Design and construction of a low-cost dispensing machine for sanitary pads

Abstract

In Uganda there is an increasing population and over 50% of this population being women. Within this portion of women, 55% of them are women and girls under the age of 18 years hence they are in a reproductive age where they experience menstrual cycles every month. With this large numbers of women menstrual hygiene becomes a serious issue since it can have detrimental effects on their health and education. Statistics show that on average 57% of school girls aged between 11-13 years miss school due to menstrual related issues and this largely attributed to lack of easy, immediate and affordable access to the menstrual materials like sanitary pads. Due to lack of access, they end up using unhealthy methods to take care of their menstrual cycles which has serious negative impacts on their health, education and self-esteem. Therefore, a solution to this problem is a low-cost sanitary pad dispensing machine that dispenses one pad at a time. The machine uses a computerized type of sanitary pad storage system which can easily be accessed by girls in case of emergencies without going to pharmacies or shops. It uses a microcontroller board and motor-based system attached to a coil spring to dispense the pads when accessed by the user through inputting a coin in the coin acceptor. The machine has a storage capacity of 15 pads and dispenses a pad within 5 seconds from the time of coin input. The machine also operates at only 9V input using a power adapter.