VANCOUVER -- A B.C. teenager is making an impact when it comes to "period poverty" as part of a campaign meant to make menstrual products more accessible.
Almost one-quarter of Canadian women say they've struggled to afford menstrual products according to United Way, the agency behind the Period Promise campaign.
Nearly one-in-seven girls in Canada have missed school due to lack of access to products.
Those behind the campaign hope to change those surprising statistics by taking donations to cover the costs of products for those who can't afford them.
Anisa Mansour is a Vancouver high school student and an activist involved in the campaign.
"Just over a year ago I watched the Oscar-winning movie 'Period. End of Sentence,'" she said. Watch the trailer below.
This movie focuses on period poverty in India, so I learned of the international impact this issue has."
Mansour said the film prompted her to research the impact in Canada. She said she was "stunned" by the data.
"I was so stunned by the fact that this issue has such a profound impact in our population, and so few people know about it. I really wanted to make a difference in our community."
She reached out to those behind the Period Promise campaign to find out how she could get involved.
Mansour now runs a collection campaign at her school, putting out boxes to collect products donated by her classmates and teachers. The items are then brought to the United Way and distributed to women in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
Learn more from Mansour and the United Way's Neil Adolph on the campaign in this interview on CTV Morning Live.
Here's the trailer for the Oscar-nominated short film "Period. End of Sentence."
