As part of international women’s day celebrations in March, we put the spotlight on Sisterhood SA – a very unique African initiative by African women for African women to end period poverty across the continent.

Sisterhood SA has designed the world’s very first sanitary kit specifically for Africa – designed to empower females across the continent not only with a product to keep them at school, but to educate effectively and efficiently in language of choice.

Explains Shaan Keegan, Director and Founder of Sisterhood SA: “Our kit includes a re-washable, re-useable sanitary pads, biodegradable packaging, educational brochures for diseases, contraception, cleaning products and panties. More importantly, through our partnerships, we are going to educate both boys and girls and remove the attached stigma attached to the menstrual cycle.”

As part of the organisation’s mission, it aims to work with Health and Education departments and universities across the African continent to become linguistic in its approach to healthcare. The ultimate goal is to put young girls on an equal footing with education by keeping them at school during their menstrual cycle.

Its primary objectives include the empowerment of women throughout our continent and beyond with medical information being readily available in a language they understand and can translate to medical practitioners effectively and efficiently.

The initiative is endorsed by the United Nations, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Social Justice for Women in South Africa. As for the Southern African and Africa expansion, Sisterhood SA is partnering with the New Africa Education Foundation, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the Africa Trade Council and the East African Health Platform.

Shaan Keegan concludes: “We created a uniformed African solution for a global issue that best suits our environment and our needs, keeping in mind our cultural diversity and respecting our traditions and cultures.”

For more information, please visit https://sisterhoodsapty.co.za or contact Shaan Kegan on email at or telephone at +27 (0)41 581-0578