Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug 2:4:1238526.
doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2023.1238526. eCollection 2023.

Menstrual hygiene management in flood-affected Pakistan: Addressing challenges and ensuring women's health and dignity

Zarnab Tufail  1 , Wania Ahmer  2 , Shanza Gulzar  2 , Muhammad Hasanain  3 , Hussain Haider Shah  2
Affiliations

Menstrual hygiene management in flood-affected Pakistan: Addressing challenges and ensuring women's health and dignity

Zarnab Tufail et al. Front Glob Womens Health. .

Abstract

Pakistan's recent floods have worsened women's and girls' menstrual hygiene problems, compromising their health, dignity, and well-being. Supply chain issues, poor facilities, and cultural stigma limit menstrual products and hygiene management. Gender-sensitive disaster management and menstrual health education programmes can help. The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) can provide emergency reproductive health services. Involving men, working with religious leaders, and pre-disaster planning for menstrual hygiene management can help break the taboo and increase access to resources. Meeting ongoing needs requires timely menstrual hygiene product distribution, restocking, and renewal. By addressing these issues, Pakistan can empower post-flood women and girls through economic opportunities and legal protection.

Keywords: floods and menstrual health; gender-sensitive disaster management; menstrual hygiene in Pakistan; menstrual hygiene in emergencies; menstrual hygiene management (MHM); minimum initial service package (MISP) for sexual and reproductive health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A map released by UNOCHA on August 25, 2022, outlining the flood damage in Pakistan (4).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Pakistan floods. WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Available at: https://www.emro.who.int/pak/information-resources/pakistan-floods.html?... (Accessed July 9, 2023).
    1. Sifton J, Ijaz S. Flood-affected women in Pakistan need urgent help, Human Rights Watch. (2022). Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/02/flood-affected-women-pakistan-need-u... (Accessed July 5, 2023).
    1. Al Jazeera. Pakistan floods: Health crisis of epic proportions.. Al Jazeera (2022). Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/9/13/pakistan-floods-health-cris... (Accessed July 9, 2023).
    1. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). Pakistan Monsoon Flood-Houses Destroyed and Damaged-Situation Report No. 03. (2022). OCHA. Available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pakistan-monsoon-flood-houses-dest... (Accessed July 9, 2023).
    1. Azad AK, Hossain KM, Nasreen M. Flood-induced vulnerabilities and problems encountered by women in northern Bangladesh. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. (2013) 4(4):190–9. 10.1007/s13753-013-0020-z - DOI

LinkOut - more resources