Philanthropy
Philanthropy
For millions of women and girls around the world, menstruation is far more than a monthly biological process. It can mean missing school, losing income, facing health risks, and living with stigma that limits everyday opportunities.
Period poverty remains one of the most overlooked barriers to gender equality. The lack of access to safe menstrual products, clean sanitation facilities, and menstrual health education continues to affect over a billion women and girls globally. Many are forced to rely on unsafe alternatives such as cloth rags or poor-quality sanitary products, often leading to infections, discomfort, anxiety, and lost opportunities for education and employment.
Addressing this challenge requires more than simply distributing products. It requires changing perceptions, building confidence, and creating solutions that communities can sustain for themselves.
Founded by Ira Guha, Asan (www.asancup.in) is an award-winning social enterprise with a mission to end period poverty through innovation, education and community partnerships. To enable philanthropic support for this mission, the organisation also works through Asan Foundation, which partners with NGOs, CSR initiatives, foundations and employers to deliver large-scale menstrual health programmes for underserved women and girls.
Working with engineers at Harvard, Asan developed one of the world’s highest-quality reusable menstrual cups, designed specifically to be safe, affordable and easy for first-time users. Made from medical-grade silicone, each cup lasts for up to ten years and can replace approximately 2,500 disposable pads or tampons, making it particularly valuable in communities where access to menstrual products is limited.
Today, the Asan ecosystem has empowered over 200,000 women and girls across South Asia and Africa, enabling them to attend school, remain productive at work and manage their periods with dignity. Looking ahead, the organisation aims to reach more than two million underserved women by 2030.
One of Asan’s greatest strengths is recognising that meaningful change happens through people, not products.
Rather than focusing solely on distribution, Asan works alongside local NGOs, healthcare workers, teachers and community leaders to deliver a structured behaviour-change programme. Women receive menstrual health education, practical training on using the cup, ongoing support, and opportunities to share their experiences with others. This community-led approach has resulted in adoption rates of around 90%, demonstrating the importance of trust and sustained engagement.
The organisation has also found that local ambassadors and early adopters play a vital role in dispelling myths and building confidence. In programmes involving adolescent girls, engaging mothers alongside their daughters has significantly improved acceptance and long-term adoption.
Asan’s work illustrates how addressing a single challenge can create ripple effects across health, education, livelihoods and the environment.
In 2025 alone, the organisation provided menstrual cups and menstrual health education to 48,328 women and girls. Users reported an 80% reduction in rashes, infections and discomfort, while nearly 2.9 million additional days of school attendance, work participation or mobility were unlocked. Families collectively saved over US$930,000 in household expenditure on disposable menstrual products, while 127 tonnes of plastic waste were prevented from entering the environment.
These outcomes demonstrate that investing in menstrual health is also an investment in education, economic participation, public health and environmental sustainability.
Asan demonstrates how thoughtful innovation, combined with community engagement and long-term partnerships, can create measurable and lasting social impact.
Its work goes beyond addressing an immediate need. It restores confidence, expands opportunities, improves health outcomes and enables women and girls to participate more fully in education, work and community life. It is a compelling example of how philanthropy can support solutions that are practical, scalable and capable of transforming lives over the long term.
Entrust Family Office would be happy to connect you with the Asan Foundation team and support you in your philanthropic endeavours.
To see other social impact organisations connected to our ecosystem, please visit: https://www.entrustfamilyoffice.com/our-network
For millions of women and girls around the world, menstruation is far more than a monthly biological process. It can mean missing school, losing income, facing health risks, and living with stigma that limits everyday opportunities. Period poverty remains one of the most overlooked barriers to gender equality. The lack of access to safe menstrual […]
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