Novel outreach to women

Hyderabad: In 2016, The Women and Child Welfare department came forward to offer a building for the operations to support rural women and help them access sanitary pads at lower costs in the Kummargada village situated 10 kms away from Bayer’s processing site in Hyderabad. The unit started with a free distribution of product to 300 adolescent girls for preliminary feedback. 

A total of 6826 packets were distributed to women in 2016. Community health camps, training, and awareness helped in disseminating information on sexual health. Eight women members from the village were also trained.

Subsequently, Bayer tied up with Jayashree Industries with Arunachalam Muruganantham as the knowledge partner. Three employees from Bayer are part of this project.  The cost of the pads made though Bayer CSE collaboration when compared to the Indian and Multinational firms is 69 per cent less and is the only natural and biodegradable pad that is made available in the market.

In 2016, this project was selected as a winner among 73 projects implemented in 37 countries as part of the Bayer Role Model Program and received a grant of €4160. This yearly global sponsorship program is funded by Bayer Cares Foundation* and is focused on people – their commitment to public welfare, their wealth of ideas in fulfilling social needs, and those that arise in times of emergency.

With this grant the low cost sanitary pad project scaled its operations to reach more women. Till date a total of 8480 girls and women are trained and 2477 sanitary packets have been marketed. 

This initiative has been well received especially by young girls.
The project commenced, when as part of Bayer’s corporate societal engagement a baseline survey was conducted by Bayer and a NGO in 2015 in ten villages in Hyderabad. The survey revealed that almost 85% of rural women and girls do not use sanitary pads when they are menstruating, which usually led to severe gynecological issues.