A woman distributing hygiene kits to displaced women in the DRC

Periods in humanitarian disasters

In humanitarian disasters across the world, women, girls and people who menstruate tell us that amongst the items that they need the most are menstrual products, wipes and soap, so that they can manage their periods safely and with dignity.

That's why we provide kits containing these items in our humanitarian response work, alongside other essentials like food, water and shelter. Periods don't stop in a crisis.

Why menstrual products are a priority in a disaster 

Conflicts and disasters can leave women, girls and people who menstruate without access to clean and safe menstrual products.

This can be due to the lack of availability of these products, or the lack of funds to buy them. As a result, many are forced to use improvised methods to manage their periods, including torn pieces of clothing, rags, dirty rugs or sitting on old tin cans. 

These alternative methods are often ineffective, uncomfortable and unhygienic. They can lead to dangerous infections as well as blood stains, which can cause feelings of embarrassment and isolation.

The contents of a hygiene kit that ActionAid distributed to refugees in Greece. It included sanitary pads, wipes, soap, underwear, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

The contents of a hygiene kit that ActionAid distributed to refugees in Greece. It included sanitary pads, wipes, soap, underwear, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid

Putting menstrual health at the heart of emergency response

Women and girls are particularly vulnerable in emergencies, disasters and conflict zones.

ActionAid ensures that women are at the heart of our emergency response work, because they are amongst the first reponders to a crisis, and bring vital skills, resources and experience.

Because our emergency work is led by women, they ensure that the needs of women refugees and other vulnerable groups are met. That is why ActionAid recognises that access to clean and safe menstrual products is not a ‘nice-to-have’. 

Roya's mum got her period as they travelled as refugees from Afghanistan to Greece.

Anna Pantelia/ActionAid

Period poverty and refugees

Roya, 21, arrived at our Women Friendly Space in Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesvos after a harrowing journey from Afghanistan. She had travelled with her family, including her two young sons Ali Reza and Sarwas, her sister and her mother. 

“It was definitely harder for the women on the journey," said Roya.

My mother got her period on the journey and she had nothing with her. She had to rip a dirty piece from her dress and use that. She also found some leaves to use."

"In ActionAid’s Women Friendly Space they gave us sanitary towels and some other things." 

How ActionAid distributes menstrual products in an emergency

We have distributed menstrual products in crises and disasters as wide-ranging as the Nepal earthquakes of 2015, in Greece at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015-2016, in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, East Africa during the food crisis of 2017 and  during the Gaza crisis in 2023-2025.

They are often distributed at our Women Friendly Spaces, which we set up in the aftermath of disasters to provide a safe space for refugee women and girls who may be at risk of violence. 

Menstrual products for climate refugees

15-year-old Hibaq has been living in a camp for displaced people in Somaliland since 2017, when devastating droughts meant her family lost their entire livelihood.

Like many women and girls, Hibaq struggled to manage her periods due to living conditions in the camp.

When we have a period, we need soap and also we need a lot of water and a toilet...But we don’t have all those facilities in our camp."

With your support, ActionAid is supporting people in the camp, and putting women and girls at the heart of our response.

We're distributing hygiene kits to women and girls - containing menstrual products and other essentials - so they can manage their periods safely and with dignity.

     ActionAid distributing hygiene kits to displaced girls and women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ActionAid. 

    Page updated 21 January 2026