Between inadequate and unsafe sanitation facilities in schools, insufficient access to menstrual hygiene materials, fear of menstrual accidents, and limited access to extra uniforms, girls in Zimbabwe could miss up to 20% of the school year because of menstruation challenges. As of 2013, only 52% of Zimbabwean schools had a clean water supply, and only 43% had improved sanitation facilities. This lack of access to WASH infrastructure and resources was compounded by a lack of comprehensive information about menstruation.

With support from Dubai Cares, Sesame Workshop launched a program called WASH UP! Girl Talk, which offered contextually-appropriate menstrual hygiene education to 10-to-12-year-old girls in participating schools in Zimbabwe. This program was part of Sesame Workshop’s WASH UP!, a global education initiative in partnership with World Vision that encouraged primary school-aged children to practice and promote healthy water, sanitation, and hygiene behaviors. WASH UP! taught good water practices, safe latrine use, proper hand washing, personal hygiene and food hygiene behaviors, and more, empowering children to be agents of change in their homes, schools, and communities.