England football player Steph Houghton has called for more to be done to combat period poverty in the UK.

Period poverty is not having access to sanitary towels due to financial restrictions. This is not only a national issue but a worldwide one also as a report by Global Citizen says "Globally, 2.3 million people live without basic sanitation services."

This should be an issue that concerns all as not having sanitary towels can affect a girl's self-confidence.  

Imagine being constantly worried about leaking blood onto your clothes because you are unable to afford sanitary towels. You're unlikely to attend school on your period because of fear of humiliation. This same humiliation prevents girls from asking for help; hence, they suffer in silence.

Plan International UK, a children's charity survey from 2017 shows 1 in 10 girls between 14 and 21 are affected by period poverty. More needs to be done to help girls affected.

Steph Houghton has partnered with Always to raise awareness for this topic. Always, along with Tampax, plan to donate one product for every one purchased in the UK to girls affected by period poverty.

The UK government plans to provide free sanitary pads for all secondary schools in England Septemeber 2019 and all primary schools from early 2020.

Houghton argues that this access will improve girls' comfortability to partake in daily activities. 

For the future, governments should take action to ensure that period poverty is never something girls have to face again.