Menstrual hygiene management in humanitarian emergencies : gaps and recommendations

Over the last fifteen years there has been increasing attention to adolescent girls’ and women’s menstrual hygiene management (MHM) needs in humanitarian response contexts. A growing number of donors, non-governmental organizations, and governments are calling attention to the importance of addressing girls’ and women’s MHM-related needs in post-disaster and postconflict settings. However consensus on the most effective and culturally appropriate responses to provide for girls and women remains insufficiently documented for widespread sharing of lessons learned. This article is an effort to begin to document the recommendation of key multi-disciplinary experts working in humanitarian response on effective approaches to MHM in emergency contexts, along with a summarizing of the existing literature, and the identification of remaining gaps in MHM practice, research and policy in humanitarian contexts. [authors abstract]