eBASE, effective basic services:Pilot study report

Increasing Adolescent Girls’ School Attendance in Education in some Priority Regions of Cameroon through Menstrual Hygiene Management: A Pilot Project Protocol

Menstruation affects girls ability to learn and subsequently compete for employment in the future. It is estimated that girls in some areas lose 40 days from school annually due to menstruation, usually related to culture, behaviors, and financial barriers to purchasing menstruation kits. This phenomenon is usually referred to as period poverty.

This pilot assessment seeks to assess the acceptability and feasibility of a comprehensive package for menstrual hygiene management in schools in Cameroon.

The package consists of education, MHM safe spaces, MHM kits, and teacher professional development. The project will be implemented and assessed in 15 schools in 3 priority regions in Cameroon targeting 10,000 girls as direct beneficiaries, 50,000 community members (including boys in schools and communities in which these schools are located) with the education and sensitization program. The assessment will use a qualitative approach consisting of stakeholder sessions, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions on one hand and a quantitative approach using surveys and school attendance reports. Implementation and evaluation teams will act independently.

The assessment will report on acceptability and feasibility, fidelity, and dosing. It will also recommend improvements on design, impact evaluation design, and best outcomes for impact evaluation.

This research project was commissioned and funded by eBASE Africa as part of evaluation of interventions for knowledge brokering for teaching and learning in Africa (www.ebaselearning.org)