Fury Over "Substandard" Always Pads In Kenya Causing Rashes And Burns

There has been an outrage by Kenyans about the Always pads in the market which have been causing burns, rashes and irritation.

Many Kenyan women have resorted to air their grievances on social media and the topic has been trending for the past two days.

Kenyan women are using the Twitter hashtag #MyAlwaysExperience to express outrage over the Always brand of sanitary pads, which they say causes rashes, burns and discomfort. https://t.co/aEWZorvJbA pic.twitter.com/LYfIfXkcx6

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) March 13, 2019

Some have revealed that they have had to seek alternative sanitary towels because of the discomfort caused by Always pads.

Many have complained that the Always pads brought into the Kenyan market are substandard compared to Always pads from other countries.

So, @Tugengirl, I bought Always in Germany after seeing your request for a global comparison. I bought Big Pack 26 pads Made in Germany by Procter & Gamble in a town called Schwalbach. Soft, perfumed absorbs 5 tablespoons wait 2Mins, no leakage. Here, a video #MyAlwaysExperience pic.twitter.com/X55LJ7qhDy

— Dr. John Njenga Karugia, PhD (@johnnjenga) March 12, 2019

Proctor & Gamble, the company that produces the Always pads has responded by saying: “The Always Ultra pads we have in Kenya are similar to the Always pads in other parts of the world including Germany, UK, US, South Africa. All our pads including the ones in Kenya are designed and developed in Europe and the US.”

The company’s response seems to have added fuel to the fire as Kenyans from the diaspora have joined the bandwagon by stating that the products sold abroad are of different quality compared to the ones sold back home.

Always Kenya has since maintained its stand by stating that all their products go through very rigorous regulatory tests and are also tested with real women to ensure that they are safe for use.