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Care for sanitary protectionAccording to the data collected, women and girls wash their sanitary protectionat least twice a day. This suggests, on the one hand, that the material used is notsufficiently absorbent and, on the other hand, that women change at least twice a day.It is clear that the fabric used in the region for the management of menstruation(an old loincloth cut down) is not sufficiently absorbent. Respondents were notable to say what sort of fabric was used (cotton, synthetic, wool, polyester, etc.)However, many mentioned “Wax-print” fabrics, which are usually made of cottonor a cotton/synthetic mix. However, the use of any fabric other than cotton cancause infections.Furthermore, none of the respondents mentioned fabric-based re-usable sanitaryprotection. Those sanitary pads made of re-usable fabric that can be made locallyhave not yet arrived in the region.The girls and women who use fabric wash it at home: 96.3% said they washed it athome in the toilet, and 2.9% said in the river or stream.It is important to note that 99.1% of girls and women said that they had never washedtheir fabric protection at their place of work, and of the pupils surveyed none hadever washed their fabric protection in school. This indicates that the activities ofgirls and women are reduced when they are menstruating. The social and religiousconstraints mentioned above also support this statement.Reasons given by girls for not washing their sanitary protection or changingat school:––“The lack of a safe place to wash fabric protection.”––“The toilets are unsuitable and are shared with the boys: this is not discreet andthere is no privacy.”––“There are no toilets in schools and, where there are, they are dirty and there is nosoap or water.”Testimonies from participants in focus groups in Saraya and Kedougou.Outcomes of the study45