Ambuja Cement Foundation partners with Hafele to strengthen the reach and impact of its menstrual hygiene management project

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 24 (ANI/NewsVoir): With an aim to strengthen women's health in rural areas, Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) has conceptualized and implemented the Menstrual Hygiene Management Programme across 7 locations.
To facilitate this programme, ACF has partnered with Hafele, the Global Interior Fittings Specialist from Germany, and together they will extend support to these rural locations through the installation of Sanitary Napkin Making/Dispensing Machines together with educative initiatives to spread knowledge about menstrual hygiene and breaking the many myths and stigmas around it.
In rural areas, menstrual hygiene management and anemia have a huge impact on the overall development of girls. Sharing her views on the issue, Pearl Tiwari, Director & CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation said, "Menstrual hygiene is a matter of public health. The main challenge is to address the shame, taboos and several myths attached to periods and menstrual hygiene. We need to work dedicatedly by identifying gaps and creating awareness to bring effective behaviour change in not just women but in the whole society. Male members of the community also have a crucial role to play here, thus, increasing knowledge and awareness for male members is also a part of this MHM programme."
Talking about Hafele's contribution to this initiative, Padma Gupta, Director - Human Resources & Customer Experience, South Asia said, "We believe in creating partnerships that make a difference to society. We are really happy to be associated with this public health cause and I am hopeful that our collaboration with Ambuja Cement Foundation will take their menstrual hygiene management programme to the next level, by imparting sanitation education and support among young girls and women in rural areas."
The purpose of the activity is to strengthen women and adolescent groups with building capacities and sustained support towards improving four pillars of menstrual hygiene management:
Access to knowledge and information
Access to menstrual absorbents
WASH structures and maintenance
Access to safe disposal
ACF will facilitate biodegradable sanitary napkin making machines which will be installed through rural women federations where maintenance and output will also be monitored. Sanitary napkins will be manufactured by village SHGs under ACF's income generation and livelihood project. Vending machines and incinerators will be installed in the schools and common points for easy access at various locations.
Established in 1993, Ambuja Cement Foundation is a grassroots pan-India implementing organisation that harnesses the power of partnerships - between communities, Government and other like-minded corporates and NGOs - to help solve pressing community problems and to foster prosperity. For almost 3 decades, ACF has created a significant impact.
A full-fledged Research and Monitoring Unit, along with numerous external, independent studies show significant change - in income levels, health indicators and overall harmony and happiness. Our work has spread beyond our core villages, and by working hand in hand with like-minded organisations, we aim to significantly impact the pressing issues currently inhibiting our country.
Hafele India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hafele Global network and has been operating in India since 2003 under the leadership of Jurgen Wolf (Managing Director). The ability of the company to understand the diverse Indian market has made it an authority in the field of architectural hardware, furniture and kitchen fittings and accessories.
The company also has a strong presence in synergized product categories namely Home Appliances, Furniture Lighting, Sanitary and Surfaces catering to the focused demand from these industries. The subsidiary has a strong nation-wide presence with offices in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Cochin. It has full-scale operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with Regional offices and Design Showrooms in both the countries; and has also spread its operations to other regions of South Asia including Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.
Hafele India services its customers with a base of over 1300 employees, a well-networked Franchise base of over 130 shops along with over 1000 dealers situated across South Asia. The subsidiary has a sophisticated Logistics centre in Mumbai along with distribution centres in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Colombo respectively.
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