Theresa Nyava

Theresa Farai Nyava-Machadu (born 1991) is a Zimbabwean activist campaigning against period poverty. Nyava is the founder of Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe Trust, a nongovernmental organization helping fight stigma and discrimination around menstruation and prevent girls from rural areas from leaving school due to lack of access to sanitary products.

Biography

Early life Nyava grew up in Zimbabwe's Zvimba district in Mashonaland West. As one in a family of 15, of which 7 were girls requiring sanitary products, Nyava personally faced period poverty in her home as a child. In Zimbabwe, her situation was not unusual, as a majority of girls do not have access to sanitary products.

Nyava-Machadu found the prevalence of period poverty had significant impacts on educational outcomes for girls, who would find themselves in desperate situations without access to sanitary products.

Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe In 2016, she established Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe with her own savings, in an effort to do more to prevent other girls from facing the same challenges she did growing up. Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe is a charitable organization that helps to distribute period products to needy girls and women. The organization also works with schools to help educate young people about menstruation and health.

Advocacy Through Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe, Nyava-Machadu has also worked to lobby the Zimbabwean government to allocate funding towards supporting sanitary products for girls, and for removing tax barriers to menstrual products. In 2019, the government passed its first budget explicitly outlining period products for schools. In addition to her work lobbying government, Nyava-Machadu regularly raises awareness about period poverty in the press through regular columns in the media.

Awards

2019 – Power, Together award, Women Leaders Global Forum at the Reykjavík Global Forum. 2022 – Frontline Hero Award, Ignite Youth Awards