Center for Biological Diversity and state partners distribute kits to address sexual and reproductive health preparedness when extreme weather disrupts access

"It is often something they haven’t thought about when building their emergency go-bag." That's what Kelley Dennings, a senior campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity, told CG the nonprofit tends to hear from those who receive the group's free sexual and reproductive health care kits.

The kits — which, according to a press release, include condoms, emergency contraception, menstrual supplies, pregnancy tests, and lubricant — are intended to help address a common gap in disaster preparedness. On March 6, the group will be distributing free kits at the University of Arizona, in partnership with the school's Women & Gender Student Space and the College of Public Health Southwest Center on Resilience for Climate Change and Health.

Too often, when extreme weather events such as floods or wildfires strike, individuals find they don't have access to these essential items. Residents forced to evacuate may not grab these products on their way out the door, emergency shelters may not be fully stocked, and, even as the weather event subsides, compromised roadways and snarled supply chains can make it difficult to buy items at the store.

The issue can be exacerbated by the frequent absence of sexual and reproductive health care from official emergency preparedness frameworks. The Center for Biological Diversity, in another initiative, recently scored all 50 U.S. states on their emergency preparedness checklists — resources that government agencies and nonprofits often provide to help residents stock up on supplies in advance of disasters. According to the Center, Maryland was the only state to earn a perfect score of four points. 

Arizona — the state where the Center's main office is located and where Friday's distribution event will take place — scored just one point. Dennings told CG, though, that similar distribution events began in 2024 in collaboration with Florida partners at Really Really Free Markets across the state.

"One of our partners gave away an additional 250 kits in the wake of Hurricanes Milton and Helene," Dennings said. "We repeated the campaign again in 2025 but this is our first time bringing the kits to another state. We are actively recruiting partners to do this across the United States."

When asked how the Center's kit holds up against its own scorecard, Dennings explained that this kit does not include "birthing supplies or simple hygiene products." But she went on to underscore that the hope is for this effort to inform how individuals might build up their own emergency supplies, encourage governments to expand preparedness programs to include these items, and inspire partnerships across climate action and sexual and reproductive health.

When asked about guidance on where and how their kits should be stored to preserve effectiveness, especially given intensifying weather conditions, Dennings noted, "We recommend people store their sexual health emergency preparedness supplies in a safe, dry, climate-controlled space, if possible." 

"Period products like pads and tampons will be fine, but condoms and emergency contraception should be properly handled," she continued. "It is also important to look at each product's expiration date and regularly rotate out old supplies."

While the Center for Biological Diversity has not scored emergency preparedness checklists outside of the U.S., there are long-standing global efforts to improve access to sexual, reproductive, and maternal health supplies in the wake of floods, fires, landslides, and droughts. 

International humanitarian organizations like the U.N. Population Fund and CARE assemble and distribute their own kits in affected areas. Global health consultant Lorelei Goodyear told The 19th News in its December coverage of the Center's scorecards that the U.S. has been "[kind of] missing the bigger picture in terms of sexual and reproductive health and the all-hazards approach that … is really embraced internationally."

But funding cuts to international aid over the last year could be a barrier. In the title of an article published in January, experts called on stakeholders worldwide "[not to] let sexual and reproductive health in humanitarian and fragile settings become a casualty of aid cuts and crisis fatigue."