Tata Consumer Products is partnering with Tata Trusts to scale its Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Program in Jharkhand. The partnership, which began work on Women’s Day (8th March) this year, with the aim to raise awareness and foster positive conversations around menstruation, has thus far benefitted over 2400 women and adolescent girls across 39 villages in Jharkhand. Tata Trusts’ Tata Water Mission, under its MHM program, since inception in 2017, has already covered over 2 lakh beneficiaries across eight Indian states—Assam, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Tata Consumer Products is partnering with Tata Trusts to scale its Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Program in Jharkhand. The partnership, which began work on Women’s Day (8th March) this year, with the aim to raise awareness and foster positive conversations around menstruation, has thus far benefitted over 2400 women and adolescent girls across 39 villages in Jharkhand. Tata Trusts’ Tata Water Mission, under its MHM program, since inception in 2017, has already covered over 2 lakh beneficiaries across eight Indian states—Assam, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Key highlights of the Tata Consumer Products –Tata Trusts’ MHM initiative in Jharkhand: • Villages covered – 39 • Awareness sessions conducted for women and adolescent girls – 572• No. of matka incinerators supplied for safer disposal of used menstrual products– 420• Cloth pads produced - 1191• Reusable MHM Products Supplied – 588• Women/girls benefitted - 2451Mr. Amit Chincholikar, Global CHRO, Tata Consumer Products speaking about the progress of the program said, “The lack of accurate information, access to menstrual products, poor sanitation, and existing taboos puts women in rural Indian villages in a very vulnerable state. Helping to build better communities is one of the pillars of Tata Consumer Products’ sustainability strategy. This initiative will help equip women and adolescent girls in rural India with the right information and products to dispel any negative perceptions around the subject. We are happy that our association with Tata Trusts for the Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) Program has successfully benefitted over 2400 women in rural Jharkhand.” Speaking about the initiative outreach Mr. Divyang Waghela, Head – Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH), Tata Trusts, said, “One of the critical elements of the Tata Water Mission’s MHM program is to provide dignity to women through knowledge and information for safe and improved menstrual hygiene practices, including destigmatising menstruation to providing choices for improved absorbents to appropriate disposal mechanism. Our goal is to guide local communities to understand the problem on health and social taboos associated with it and build their capabilities so that they may seek solutions on their own. This builds sustainability into the programme. We are happy to collaborate with Tata Consumer Products to further strengthen this initiative, generate more positive and empowering conversations around this subject and enable sustainable solutions.”