Menstruation in US Disaster Preparedness & Response

Millions of adolescent girls and women are estimated to be impacted by disasters across the United States (US) each year. For those who menstruate, displacement or disruption due to a diversity of disasters, illustratively including floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and also pandemics, may negatively impact their menstrual health and hygiene (MHH). Those sheltering in place or displaced from their homes to emergency shelters or temporary housing, may face difficulty accessing the menstrual materials and save, private, clean toilets, bathing, and laundering facilities needed. 

Building on our prior work exploring the MHH needs of displaced adolescent girls and women in global humanitarian contexts, including the Menstrual Hygiene Management in Emergencies (MHMiE) Toolkit(link is external and opens in a new window) developed collaboratively with emergency response actors, the GATE team is exploring how MHH is currently incorporated into US disaster preparedness and response at national, state and local levels.