Rotterdam city council is to expand the use of its Rotterdampas system for children from very poor families to cover tampons and sanitary towels from July 1.

Some 8,000 children aged 12 to 17 in Rotterdam are eligible for a total of €500 a year via the card-based system, which they can already use to buy sports gear and school supplies at designated shops.

The plan to pay for menstrual products was proposed by the city’s branch of the Labour party to tackle ‘period poverty’. Girls will be able to buy the products they need by using the card in high street staple Hema.

Research by aid group Plan International in 2019 showed that 9% of young women in the Netherlands had found it difficult to get hold of tampons and towels because they did not have enough money to pay for them.