"Discussions have been held on strengthening and expanding emergency response packages ... and DoDMA has been very supportive of more comprehensive, gender-responsive approaches to disaster recovery," Pamela Kuwali of CARE Malawi told CG.
Unusually heavy rainfall triggered devastating floods in Malawi at the end of 2025 and the start of 2026. In Nkhotakota District alone, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said last week, at least 49,104 people were affected by the floods while at least 12 died and 10,912 were displaced into 14 camps.
Among the many challenges in crisis settings is access to menstrual care. According to The Sunday Times, a regional newspaper, multiple camps lacked sufficient bathroom facilities and period products. The outlet reported that Wilson Moleni, the Commissioner of the country's Department of Disaster Management Affairs — or DoDMA — acknowledged that relief kits did not include menstrual supplies and said it would consider including these items in the future.
CG asked the international humanitarian organization CARE about how emergency kits like the kind it assembles might help to meet this need.
Moleni met with CARE Malawi back in December and reviewed the organization's kits. The organization shared about the meeting on social media in a post that showed Moleni exploring the contents of the Emergency Contingency Plan packages, or ECPs.
Just a few weeks later, CARE Malawi also posted about supporting flood-affected residents of camps in Nkhotakota by distributing 250 of the kits, which contained "shelter materials such as tarpaulins and ropes, household essentials including kitchen utensils and a makeshift cookstove, and sanitation and hygiene items like soap, water treatment solutions, collapsible pails and jugs, and sanitary wear for women."
Pamela Kuwali, CARE Country Director in Malawi, told CG that these sanitary items included reusable pads, disposable pads, and underwear, but, as reported by The Sunday Times, need outstripped demand, with thousands of families displaced.
"While menstrual hygiene is often acknowledged in humanitarian settings, it is not always addressed adequately or prioritized at the same level as other relief items, despite being essential for dignity, health, and protection," Kuwali said via email. "CARE is working to close this gap by providing comprehensive packages that include multiple essentials women and girls need when households lose everything during floods or other shocks."
Lack of access to safe menstrual care can heighten the risks of infection, stigma, and harassment. These hazards underscore the importance of expanding post-disaster access.
"Scaling up would involve expanded procurement and pre-positioning of menstrual products, dedicated funding for dignity kits, stronger needs assessments that capture menstrual health requirements, and coordinated engagement with government and partners to ensure wider coverage and sustained support beyond initial emergency distributions," Kuwali explained.
With DoDMA aware of recent unmet needs and with Moleni saying the department would consider integrating menstrual supplies into disaster response, those actions may not be far off in Malawi.
"Discussions have been held on strengthening and expanding emergency response packages like the one CARE has curated, and DoDMA has been very supportive of more comprehensive, gender-responsive approaches to disaster recovery," Kuwali noted. "However, as is often the case in large-scale emergencies, resource availability and funding constraints remain a key challenge in scaling up these supplies to meet the full level of post-disaster need across affected communities."
CG reached out to DoDMA about what it would take for menstrual supplies to be incorporated more comprehensively into government disaster response but had not heard back at the time of publication.
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