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15-year-old Nigerian pupil Raheema Auwal-Panti is attracting planetary attraction for an innovation that tackles 2 large challenges astatine once, integrative contamination and menstrual-product accessibility.
The laminitis of PantiPads, a biodegradable sanitary-pad inaugural launched successful 2025, has developed menstrual products made from cultivation discarded materials that would different beryllium discarded. Her task uses cassava peelings, banana leaves and maize husks to make a much environmentally affable alternate to accepted sanitary pads. The thought precocious earned planetary designation aft being shortlisted among 35 teams worldwide successful the 2026 Earth Prize competition.
Who is Raheema Auwal-Panti?
Raheema Auwal-Panti is simply a teen from Minna, the superior of Nigeria's Niger State. She founded PantiPads aft learning astir the biology interaction of accepted disposable sanitary products.Many accepted sanitary pads incorporate important amounts of plastic, which tin stay successful the situation for decades oregon adjacent centuries aft disposal. Concerned astir the increasing occupation of integrative waste, Auwal-Panti began exploring ways to make a much sustainable alternate utilizing materials readily disposable successful her community.
Her information was not constricted to biology concerns. She besides wanted to amended entree to menstrual products for girls and women who conflict to spend them.
Turning cultivation discarded into sanitary pads
The instauration of the task lies successful the usage of cultivation by-products that are commonly discarded aft nutrient processing and farming activities.PantiPads uses cassava peelings, banana leaves and maize husks. These materials are abundant successful bluish Nigeria, wherever agriculture plays a large relation successful section economies.Instead of ending up arsenic waste, the plant-based materials tin beryllium processed into biodegradable sanitary products that interruption down acold much easy than accepted plastic-based alternatives.Nigeria is 1 of the world's largest producers of cassava, a staple harvest utilized successful a assortment of nutrient products.Processing cassava generates ample quantities of waste, including peelings and different by-products. When not decently managed, this discarded tin lend to biology problems specified arsenic h2o pollution, ungraded degradation and unpleasant odours.By incorporating cassava discarded into sanitary-pad production, Auwal-Panti's task offers a imaginable mode to trim cultivation discarded portion creating a utile user product.
Addressing play poorness and menstrual stigma
Beyond its biology benefits, PantiPads is designed to tackle challenges surrounding menstrual health.Access to affordable sanitary products remains a important contented for galore girls and women crossed parts of Africa. Limited entree tin impact schoolhouse attendance, wellness and wide well-being.Auwal-Panti believes biodegradable sanitary products tin assistance supply a safer and much sustainable enactment portion encouraging greater consciousness astir menstrual health. She has besides highlighted the request to code menstrual stigma, which continues to impact galore young women and girls.
Recognition connected the planetary stage
The task precocious gained planetary attraction done the Earth Prize, 1 of the world's starring biology innovation competitions for young people.PantiPads was selected among 35 planetary finalist teams successful the 2026 competition, which attracts entries from students crossed dozens of countries. The designation has helped radiance a spotlight connected some the biology and societal goals down the initiative.The Earth Prize is organised by the Earth Foundation, a Switzerland-based non-profit that supports young innovators moving connected solutions to biology challenges.
Environmental benefits of biodegradable pads
Traditional disposable sanitary pads lend importantly to integrative discarded due to the fact that galore incorporate plastic-based layers and components.Biodegradable alternatives could assistance trim landfill waste, little integrative pollution, alteration dependence connected petroleum-based materials and beforehand sustainable manufacturing practices.Because PantiPads relies connected plant-based cultivation waste, the products are designed to decompose people and permission a smaller biology footprint.
What comes adjacent for PantiPads?
Although the task has gained planetary recognition, it remains successful the improvement stage.Rather than instantly gathering a manufacturing facility, Auwal-Panti is focusing connected moving with existing producers, learning astir accumulation systems and gathering partnerships wrong the concern community.Her semipermanent ambition is to found section accumulation facilities susceptible of manufacturing biodegradable sanitary pads connected a larger scale.The inaugural is besides progressive successful consciousness campaigns aimed astatine encouraging consumers to see sustainable menstrual products arsenic an alternate to accepted pads.
A young innovator tackling aggregate challenges
What makes PantiPads basal retired is its effort to code respective issues done a azygous solution. By transforming cultivation discarded into biodegradable sanitary pads, Raheema Auwal-Panti is moving to trim integrative pollution, make worth from workplace discarded and amended entree to menstrual products. While the task is inactive evolving, its designation connected the planetary signifier highlights however young innovators are progressively contributing ideas that could assistance code biology and societal challenges successful their communities and beyond.
