ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT RADHIKA SHARMA, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
Tufts University | Massachusetts, United States | Advancing SDG 5 & UNAI 6
" I am so excited to be a part of the Millennium Fellowship because it gives me an opportunity to amplify the stories of women and address health disparities in new ways, all while working alongside other brilliant minds focusing on their own forms of empowerment. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Project Period
Project Period aims to distribute cloth pads to women and adolescent girls and to lessen period poverty in India. Women in rural areas often face challenges in accessing menstrual products and this increases the risk of the urinary tract and reproductive tract infections. The synthetic disposable sanitary pads which are easily available in the market are harmful to the environment and their improper disposal and decomposition cause serious damage to the environment. Every month, India produces 1 billion menstrual waste which fills up landfills and emits toxic gases in the environment. Project PERIOD aims to mitigate and conserve the environment by encouraging the use of eco-friendly menstrual products like cloth pads. Cloth pads can be reused for 6-7 months. This would result in less menstrual waste, as the cloth pads are reusable, helping ecological conservation. Since the cloth pads can last for 6-7 months, women and adolescent girls who do not have easy access to menstrual products will not have to worry about the availability of disposable sanitary napkins every month
About the Millennium Fellow
As a first-generation American from Kentucky, Radhika Sharma has felt the urgency to interact with and understand several communities. With an interest in listening to and sharing stories, Radhika strives help minority women regain agency in society by amplifying their voices. Currently, Radhika is a junior at Tufts University pursuing a double major in Biology and Community Health. Radhika delves herself in various experiences to better understand the deep-rooted struggles that women face in leading healthy, dignified lives. Radhika’s unique perspective inspires her to combine her interests in storytelling, advocacy, health inequities by pursuing women’s health in the long-term.
