After being shamed over bloodstains on her uniform, Ghanaian student Juliet Opoku misses about a week of school each month because her parents, who are farmers, can no longer afford pads.
The cost of pads has more than doubled to 12 Ghanaian cedi ($1.43) from 5 cedi last year in the west African nation, where inflation is about 32%, forcing poorer families like Opoku's to focus on buying food over sanitary products.
"I skip school because once I stained my uniform and the boys teased me. It has affected my confidence," Opoku, 15, said by phone from Ghana's southern Ashanti Region.