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Digital giants are profiting from harmful ‘vaginal detox’ products in Kenya

Campaigners say platforms like Jumia, Google and Meta need tougher rules to stop them benefiting from harming Africans

Digital giants are profiting from harmful ‘vaginal detox’ products in Kenya
A woman holds a message that reads "She decides" as women from various informal settlements in Nairobi call for empowerment of women and girls in the grass-roots in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 13, 2019. | YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images
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Eve Waruingi was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) during high school.

Waruingi, who lives in Nairobi, Kenya, was put on oral contraceptives to help regulate her period and manage other symptoms. But as she reached her 20s, the medication stopped working, and she began experiencing extreme pelvic pain and gaining weight.

“It has been so frustrating,” she said.