A/70/203 access to safe water for hand washing, menstrual hygiene, and anal and genital cleansing. They must also include mechanisms for the hygienic disposal of menstrual products and nappies. Good hygiene practices require hygiene promotion and education to ensure good hand-washing, proper use of toilets and menstrual hygiene, encouraging individuals to prepare and consume food in a hygienic manner that respects the safety and well-being of others. 4. Affordability 24. Use of hygiene facilities and services must be available at a price that is affordable to all people. The main costs, other than for installation, are associated with supplying water, soap and cleaning products for hand -washing, food hygiene, home hygiene and washing clothes, and for sanitary napkins or other products required for menstrual hygiene. Paying for these services must not l imit people’s capacity to acquire other basic goods and services guaranteed by human rights, such as food, housing, health services and education. Assistance should be provided to households or individuals who are unable to afford soap and cleaning product s, or sanitary products for women and girls. 5. Acceptability, privacy and dignity 25. Hygiene facilities and services must be culturally acceptable. Personal hygiene is a highly sensitive issue across regions and cultures. Differing perspectives on t he acceptability of hygiene practices must be taken into account regarding the design, positioning and conditions of use for sanitation, hand -washing and menstrual hygiene facilities. Facilities should accommodate hygiene practices in specific cultures, such as anal and genital cleansing, and women’s toilets must accommodate menstruation hygiene management needs, particularly with respect to privacy. Menstruation is taboo in many countries, which makes menstrual hygiene a major concern for the health and well-being of women, and particularly of girls, who may not have sufficient knowledge about managing menstruation to be able to develop good practices. Education is necessary at schools, for boys as well as girls, to start to address the social taboos associated with menstruation and menstrual hygiene. D. Human rights principles 26. Apart from these substantive criteria, human rights principles provide vital guidance on how human rights must be realized and applied to particular types of services. 1. Non-discrimination and substantive equality 27. Equality and non-discrimination are the central tenet of human rights, and are linked under human rights law. 5 For individuals and groups to enjoy full equality, States must take all necessary steps to ensure substantive equality, which means preventing discrimination in both legislation and policies and in practice. The principle of non-discrimination is immediately binding for all levels and entities of a State, in all spheres and at all times. __________________ 5 15-12500 See A/RES/217 A (III), art. 2; A/RES/2200 A (XXI), annex, art. 2; and E/C.12/GC/20. 9/24