As part of its Period of Life: Improving Menstrual Health and Knowledge in India project, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai is organizing a virtual workshop with researchers in the field of menstrual health to discuss strategies and best practices for strengthening research capacities and mitigating funding challenges.
Recognized by the World Health Organization as a health and human rights issue, menstruation is a key indicator of women’s health. Menstrual health is an integral component to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, research on menstruation is often limited to menstrual hygiene and does not comprehensively address it from a lifecourse and justice perspective. Due to resource constraints, researchers often lack financial support to expand their research beyond menstrual hygiene, and are unable to utilize it to advance evidence-informed policy and programs for menstrual health.
Addressing these themes, the workshop will provide insights on the funding landscape for menstrual research, and offer recommendations to bridge the gap between research, policy and programs.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Professor Inga Winkler is an Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law, Central European University, Vienna. Her research interests lie at the intersection of menstruation, human rights and culture, and current projects focus on inequalities, marginalization and representation. Her books include The Palgrave Handbook on Critical Menstruation Studies and an edited volume on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Professor M. Sivakami is a Professor at the Center for Health and Social Sciences, School of Health Systems Studies at TISS. Her research interests include demography, gender and health. She was the principal investigator of a major study to understand menstrual hygiene management among school girls in India. She is an academic editor for PLOS Global Public Health, and is on the editorial board of Women's Midlife Health.
Ms. Suneeta Krishnan is a social epidemiologist with 20 years of experience in research and engaging policymakers on the promotion of health and social equity, with a focus on India. She leads the strategy, portfolio management, evaluation and program administration functions at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India Country Office. A graduate of Barnard College, she received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.
About the Moderator:
Dr. Ravina Aggarwal is the Senior Advisor of Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai and a sociocultural anthropologist with three decades of research in the Himalayan region. In addition to her several academic publications, she has recently authored the mystery novel, Searching for the Songbird(Zubaan Books, 2022).