AnuFlo launches application to support menstrual health

Dar es Salaam. AnuFlo Industries has launched a health app that supports women in the menstrual and reproductive health stakes.

The Hedhi App is a menstruation tracker that enables young women to speak privately with gynaecologists.

The free app - which is the first to be in ki-Swahili - will help its users to understand their menstrual cycles, track pregnancies, and provide guidance tips from experts.

According to AnuFlo Industries managing director Flora Njelekela, the app makes it easier for women to understand their unique period cycles. It also offers the user a fun way to track changes in their mood and body.

“This is a great tool for many young girls to be able to track their menstrual cycle and to also learn how their bodies may change moods. From our research, we have noticed that many young girls get unwanted pregnancies due to lack of knowledge of their menstrual cycles, hence the Hedhi App will help keep track of their menstrual cycles and reduce the unwanted pregnancies,” she said.

She said they will latter start visiting schools in rural areas and also creating an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for girls who do not own smartphones to enable them ask questions about their periods as well as create branded notebooks that will help girls in the rural areas to track their periods. Currently, In Tanzania, almost one-in-four (23 percent) girls between the ages of 15 and 19 has either given birth or are pregnant and teenage pregnancy in Tanzania is even more common in rural areas (26 percent) than in urban zones (15 percent).

Ninety one percent of rural shops do not sell disposable menstrual products and even if they are available, buying them is difficult because of cultural beliefs. Forty eight percent of schoolgirls miss school due to menstruation.

The Hedhi App will now be able to bridge that gap and allow them to freely order their tampons or buy contraceptives via the app and have it delivered to their doorstep.

For his part, Dr Living Colman, a Gynaecologist working at the Muhimbili National Hospital, said “We are honoured to partner with AnuFlo Industries through the Hedhi App as we have experienced that many women have a fear to visit a gynaecologist. The information will be confidential between doctor and patient. We will also be posting articles on different subjects related to your menstrual cycle and reproductive system,” he said.