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Shared sanitation services continue to expand in India's growing cities, yet, these facilities are blighted by issues including lack of privacy, overflow of raw sewage, and notably, a lack of water supply. Access to water in shared toilets for menstruating women and girls to wash themselves, their reusable menstrual products, their stained clothes, and sanitation infrastructure is a critical but all too-often neglected aspect of menstrual hygiene management (MHM). Drawing on the existing literature and data from Maharashtra, this commentary article uses the example of urban India to highlight the ‘need of the hour’, the provision of water in shared sanitation facilities in the global South for MHM as and when required. Evidence-based water supply norms in shared sanitation for MHM, from menarche to the perimenopause, are key, to highlight the need for water as an ‘MHM plus’ requirement for women and girls reliant on shared facilities. Connecting shared toilets to piped water is a long-term process, but the provision of water in buckets is a start. Hygiene promotion can create awareness of the importance of water for sustainable MHM. Monitoring and evaluation can determine the impact of supplying water in shared toilets on MHM.

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印度不断发展的城市中的共享卫生服务不断扩大，但这些设施却因缺乏隐私、未经处理的污水溢出以及供水不足等问题而受到损害。供经期妇女和女孩使用共用厕所的水进行自我清洗、可重复使用的经期产品、脏衣服和卫生基础设施是经期卫生管理 (MHM) 的一个重要但经常被忽视的方面。这篇评论文章借鉴马哈拉施特拉邦的现有文献和数据，以印度城市为例来强调“当前的需求”，即在需要时在全球南方的共享卫生设施中为 MHM 提供水。从月经初潮到围绝经期的 MHM 共享卫生设施中基于证据的供水规范是关键，以强调对依赖共享设施的妇女和女童的“MHM+”要求，即对水的需求。将共用厕所连接到自来水是一个长期的过程，但提供桶装水只是一个开始。卫生宣传可以提高人们对水对于可持续 MHM 重要性的认识。监测和评估可以确定共用厕所供水对 MHM 的影响。