LONDON — Scotland has become the first country to provide free sanitary products to students at schools, colleges and universities, an effort to banish “period poverty,” in which girls and women miss out on their studies because they cannot afford protection.

The government last week announced a program costing 5.2 million pounds, or about $6.4 million, to supply 395,000 students with essential sanitary products every month, beginning in September.

“In a country as rich as Scotland, it’s unacceptable that anyone should struggle to buy basic sanitary products,” Aileen Campbell, the communities secretary, said in a statement on Friday.

She said the investment would provide “these essential products” to those who need them “in a sensitive and dignified way, which will make it easier for students to fully focus on their studies.”