Wales is not the first UK country to take steps towards tackling period poverty. Scotland has been a leader in this area: period poverty was first debated in the Scottish parliament in 2017, and Nicola Sturgeon’s government subsequently introduced a pilot scheme to deliver menstrual products to women and girls in need through foodbanks.

Scotland later became the first country in the world to offer free sanitary products in every school, college and university, as part of a £5.2m government scheme launched in August 2018.

Theresa May’s government has also promised to address period poverty in England. In his spring statement in March, chancellor Philip Hammond announced that free period products would be provided in secondary schools and colleges in England from September 2019.

Welsh schoolgirls will be given free sanitary products in a bid to end period poverty