The Ripple Effect: How Climate Change Impacts Menstrual Health and Potential Responses

Arundati Muralidharan ^1,2* Marije Broekhuijsen ³ Lady Lisondra ⁴ Aeka Guri ⁵ Jacquelyn Haver ⁶ Sidra Irfan ⁷

• ¹ Menstrual Health Action for Impact, New Delhi, India
• ² Global Menstrual Collective, London, United Kingdom
• ³ UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, New York, New York, United States
• ⁴ International Planned Parenthood Federation ESEAOR, Cebu, Philippines
• ⁵ Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
• ⁶ Save the Children (United States), Washington, DC, Washington, United States
• ⁷ Menstrual Rights Global, Lahore, Pakistan

Girls and women face greater risks threats and experience severe ramifications from climate change, with studies consistently finding that women face experience greater more health risks risks from climate change than men do. Climate change threatens endangers girls and women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, including their menstrual health and hygiene practices. However, menstrual health and hygiene is rarely discussed in the context of climate change. We scoped the existing evidence to describe the interlinkages between climate change and menstrual health and hygiene, and outline services that anticipate, respond to, cope with, recover from, adapt to or transform in response to climate related events, trends and disturbances. Specifically, we describe how climate change disrupts access to essential menstrual health and hygiene information, products and services, impacts menstrual disorders and the menstrual cycle, and intensifies existing inequalities. Actions to improve menstrual health and Recommendations for improvementhygiene include climate resilient menstrual health and hygiene services encompassing access to menstrual products and materials, impartment ofing knowledge and skills, access to climate resilient facilities and services, social support, and policy actions.