The Uttar Pradesh government, in celebration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, has announced the expansion of the Swachh Garima Vidyalaya initiative to cover 7,004 government and aided schools across all 75 districts of the state.
Background of the Initiative
Launched in August 2022 as a pilot project in one government girls' inter college per district, the initiative was implemented in collaboration with UNICEF. Its goal was to create model schools equipped with functional girls' toilets, sanitary pad vending machines, disposal units, and trained nodal teachers to sensitively address menstrual hygiene and health.
Success Leads to Expansion
Over nearly four years, the model demonstrated visible change, compelling the government to scale it to all schools. In April 2026, the secondary education department and UNICEF jointly conducted state-level trainings, preparing 150 teachers as master trainers. Officials stated that the programme will be fully implemented by July.
Additional state project director of Samagra Shiksha, VK Pandey, said: “It is the government’s commitment to keep all girls in school to ensure they continue to learn and play and achieve their full potential. For this, menstrual health plays a vital role.”
UNICEF chief of UP, Zakari Adam, added: “It’s good to see the state government has reinvigorated its efforts to ensure that menstrual hygiene and health services reach schools. We are proud to support the government.”
