A papyrus sanitary pad, or Makapad, is a sanitary napkin made from papyrus, a natural material. It is reported to be 75 percent cheaper than a conventional pad and thus an advantage to the poor, as well as being highly absorbent.
The pads, developed by Dr. Moses Kizza Musaazi at Uganda's Makerere University Department of Technology, are targeted especially at rural primary school girls who have started menstruating. These girls would normally find it difficult to attend school if they had no pads, and often cannot afford conventional pads. These sanitary pads also provide employment opportunities for the women of the rural communities in Uganda. They are made entirely by hand, and using local materials.
They are made almost entirely from natural materials, with a few percent of non-woven material and polythene paper.