Australia Awards Alumna Farhana Sultana has been awarded a USD100,000 grant by the Islamic Development Bank to undertake a project “innovation of a jute-based low cost, acceptable and biodegradable disposable sanitary pad to facilitate menstrual hygiene management in Bangladesh”.
The project is being funded by the Islamic Development Bank, through the Innovation via Transform Fund, as a support for its Member Countries in finding innovative and practical solutions to key development challenges.
In 2016, Farhana also received a grant of USD500,000 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop ‘menstrual hygiene management interventions for Bangladeshi school girls’ as part of the Grand Challenges: Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development.
Farhana received an Australia Awards Scholarship in 2014 where she undertook a Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne. She currently works as an Assistant Scientist at icddr, b is a Bangladesh-based international health research institute.