Listen to this articlePeriod pains can become so severe it immobilizes girls and young women from working, schooling, or engaging in day-to-day activities. This is the story of how a new organization in Uganda is promoting aromatherapy as a solution.
MPIGI, UGANDA: Sarah Kansiime, 14, saw her first period when she was 12. She had looked forward to everything but the pain. Living with a single mother who regularly needed help with chores and her business, she would writhe in pain for the first four days of her period. “I cannot help my mother with anything. The pains are usually so much that I would only be crying and rolling in bed for the four days of every month,” said Kansiime.
Kansiime has dysmenorrhea, which is the medical term for severe menstrual cramps, a condition that affects over 50% of women globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). To manage the situation, Kansiime only found relief from a cocktail of painkillers, including ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and paracetamol.
The drugs cost Sh1,000 Ugandan shillings (US 27 cents; ₦448) per month and left a myriad of side effects, including migraines, tiredness, and nausea. Later, she switched to herbal concoctions, which cost Sh20,000 Ugandan shillings ($5,46; ₦8,976) and had the same side effects as the drugs. “My mother tried so many options but none of them worked,” Kansiime recalls. Then, she met She Deserves Uganda.
She Deserves Uganda, a social enterprise in Uganda working towards menstrual hygiene and the eradication of period pain, produces an organic solution to dysmenorrhea. In October 2023, the organization visited Kansiime’s school and taught students about menstruation and menstrual hygiene. At the end of the sessions, they introduced an oil called The Cramp Relief Droppers.
“Since I started using The Cramp Relief Droppers, my period days are as normal as every other day,” Kansiime said. “I apply the oil on my lower abdomen and massage it for 15 minutes after that, on the first day of my period, I will not experience any pain again for that month.”
Beyond the Cramp Relief Droppers, she gained new knowledge on menstrual hygiene and learned how to produce reusable menstrual pads. Since then, she’s also taught her mum and two sisters. “My mother and I have already concluded that after my exams, we will start producing the reusable pads in big quantities and sell them,” Kansiime told The SolutionsPaper.
The Impact of dysmenorrhea
Menstrual cramps, also known as dysmenorrhea are painful sensations felt in the lower abdomen, usually during menstruation. This is caused by the contraction of the uterus as it sheds its lining during the period. Globally, more than 80% of female adolescents experience it. In Uganda, approximately 75% of female adolescents in higher institutions also report having the distressing condition.
For girls from low-income backgrounds, the impact of menstrual cramps is often compounded by limited access to healthcare and menstrual hygiene products. However, even with access to healthcare, girls from the high-income brackets are not immune to cramps.
Research indicates that management of menstruation can present substantial challenges to girls in low-income communities. Painkillers such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium and mefenamic acid commonly used to manage period cramps have been reported to have long-term health consequences, including endocrinopathy, reduced fertility, and neonatal risk.
Jackline Birungi, 23, the founder of She Deserves Uganda, said she began suffering painful menstrual cramps at the age of 13. Like many others the organization has worked with, she’d become addicted to painkillers and had severe health complications, which led her to have heart surgery when she was only 20 years old.
She discovered aromatherapy after her surgery, which led to the dropper that has become She Deserves Uganda’s key product. Medically, aromatherapy is used in a wide range of settings, from health spas to hospitals, to treat a variety of conditions. In general, it is used to relieve pain, improve mood, and promote a sense of relaxation.
According to Healthline, aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts and oils such as lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint, among others. The Cramp Relief Droppers are a mixture of carrier and essential oils, produced by the cold press and steam distillation methods.
Understanding the socioeconomics of the country, Jackline designed the droppers as a low-cost and side-effect-free cramps relief for girls and women from low-income families. They are sold for Sh4,320 Ugandan shillings ($1.18; ₦1,795) and a capsule of it could last for 5 to 6 months.
According to Kansiime, she spent Sh1,000 Uganda shillings (US 27 cents; ₦448) on painkillers every month and over Sh20,000 Uganda shillings ($5,46; ₦8,976) on herbs, but with The Cramp Relief Droppers, she purchases it once in 6 months, and is assured of better results.
“Even the painkillers and herbs, they made me so weak that I would be on the bed all week. I would not attend school or do anything around the house until the week was done. When compared to how much I spend on those painkillers, the Dropper is very cheap and affordable,” Sandra Peace, 21, a student at Jangu International, Kampala, told The SolutionsPaper.
According to Jackline, the organization has reached out to over 10,000 girls across 50 schools, providing them with education and sustainable menstrual health solutions. They have equally distributed over 1,540 units of The Cram Relief Droppers, created over 578 reusable pads through its Stitch 4 Her program, and responded to over 28,000 menstrual questions through its Q&A sections with the girls either physically in groups, one-on-one sessions, or through online platforms.
“We realized over time that the girls are usually shy to ask questions pertaining to menstruation in public, so we created a Q&A section on our website where they could ask their questions in the comfort of their rooms and we did be sure to provide them with the right answers,” Jackline mentioned
The product has been certified under the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) after successful laboratory certification and tests that proved the effectiveness and safety of the product.
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Why has She Deserves Uganda not expanded to other countries ?
However, UIRI certification is not sufficient for the full operation required for the distribution of the product. Procedural delays have been a major setback. The UIRI certification only permits the distribution of the product within a state in Uganda.
To fully operate in the national market and possibly in the international market, the product would need to get an extra two certifications from the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and The National Drug Authority, which the organization has been pursuing for over five months.
Jackline expressed her desire to reach out to young girls, but the required certifications have been a problem. “The major aim is to help these young girls out of these pains. We would have given the product out for free but for the sake of sustainability, a little amount is attached to it, to be able to reach out to more girls but what is restricting the product from getting fully into the market is the procedural delays.” Jackline said.
Credits
Editing: Olatunji Olaigbe
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This story was published in partnership with Nigeria Health Watch through the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems. __________________________________________________
Chidera Eze is a freelance journalist with bias for solutions journalism, a blockchain content writer and a public relations student.