Charitable efforts to alleviate the difficulties of obtaining sanitary products

The lack of women’s sanitary products sparks controversy in Sri Lanka, due to its high prices. The “Free to Flow” project aims to distribute reusable sanitary napkins to females aged between 15 and 40 in low-income families across the country at affordable prices of around Rs.280 per set and used for a year and a half.

The reusable napkins are up to the required standards and ensure women’s health and safety.

Most commercial pads right now are very expensive and treated as a luxury import, which means women pay a tax of 53% on each pack of pads as the prices of these pads range from Rs. 500 to Rs. 900, and since a pad has to be changed every four hours for risk of infection, one woman uses between two and three packs per menstrual cycle, which translates to a significant expense, especially for the daily workers and houses with more than one woman.