Sanitary item funding ‘needed’
A Pharmac proposal to subsidise sanitary items has been welcomed by a Palmerston North women’s charity, which says it is a necessary change.
In a statement on Monday, Government agency Pharmac said it had received a funding application for sanitary items at the end of 2016 and was investigating whether subsidising tampons and pads was within its scope.
Juanita Van Winkel said a subsidy would likely help women with existing health problems, as well as lifting financial pressure on struggling families.
For two years, the Palmerston North mother-of-two dealt with uterus fibroids, benign muscle tumours in the uterus, which caused heavy bleeding and terrible pain.
There were many other women out there who had health issues and found sanitary products too expensive, she said.
‘‘Some women would have to use up 10 sanitary pads a day. Imagine that. I just feel for them.’’
Van Winkel volunteers her time at Go with the Flow, an organisation which gives women in need free tampons, sanitary pads and menstrual cups.
In the past week, 32 cups and 24 reusable pads were given out. Another 35 women were given other sanitary products.
Van Winkel said there were many families all over the country in tight financial situations.
If it came to choosing food for their children or a week’s worth of tampons and pads, mothers would likely choose their family before their health, she said.
Pharmac said its first step was to determine whether the application fell within its scope of work.
Its role was to obtain the best health outcomes possible from pharmaceuticals from the funding available.
‘‘This includes an assessment of evidence to determine the therapeutic benefits of the product under assessment,’’ it said.
Go with the Flow co-founder Rebecca Culver also supported the funding proposal.
There had been an increase in women going to Just Zilch - a charity food store to access the free sanitary products, simply because they could not afford to buy them.
‘‘My understanding is that the are using towels, rags, old pieces of cloth, tea towels - pretty much anything they can get their hands on.’’
A subsidy would alleviate financial pressure for many, but it would not solve the issue, she said.
‘‘At the end of the day, there are still going to be people who struggle to buy the products.
‘‘A lot of women don’t want to talk about [menstruation]. It’s taboo in a lot of cultures. But we need to talk about it. There are so many women this impacts.’’
Pharmac chief executive Steffan Crausaz said the funding application was received from a private citizen, who asked if Pharmac could help with the cost of tampons and pads.