Menstrual disorders impact women’s ability to carry out responsibilities in the workplace and at home, and to participate in social and leisure activities.
Menstrual bleeding is also an important cause of anaemia in women of reproductive age.
Anaemia disproportionately affects women. Worldwide, half a billion women of reproductive age are anaemic (1 in 3), with a particularly high burden in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Anaemia reduces wellbeing, educational attainment, physical endurance, and participation in work, social, and leisure activities. In pregnancy, anaemia increases the risk of death in childbirth, perinatal and neonatal death, and preterm birth.