Period poverty isn’t just about finances or the absence of menstrual products. It’s about the absence of clean, piped water and other resources that make menstrual hygiene possible. Unfortunately, in places where droughts crack the earth and storms flood the streets, the taps run dry, and often so does dignity. Climate-driven water scarcity turns menstruation into a monthly crisis of shame, risk, and resilience.
The numbers tell a sobering story. Since 1975, Earth’s surface temperature has increased by up to 0.20°C per decade, according to NASA. That trajectory reached a new peak in 2024 when NOAA confirmed the hottest year on record: 1.29°C above the 20th-century average. Though it may seem like a small amount, it represents a massive accumulation of heat across the planet’s oceans, land, and atmosphere; fueling more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, intensified droughts, and devastating storms.
In the Caribbean, and more specifically, in Jamaica, the hurricane season ushers in a delicate rhythm of dry and wet spells. Tropical storms and droughts take turns in a climatic duet, where one often preludes the other and each acts as a postlude to what came before. This volatile cycle has become a defining feature of daily life.
In 2021 alone, Jamaica recorded six separate drought events, with parishes like St. Thomas enduring prolonged dry spells that severely impacted agriculture and water access. Annual rainfall dipped to 1,663 mm, falling four per cent below the previous year and well under the 30-year average, according to a 2022 Jamaica Observer article. These dry-season droughts slashed crop yields by up to 70 per cent in some areas, strained public health infrastructure, and triggered water restrictions across multiple parishes.
As reported by the Jamaica Gleaner, the National Water Commission (NWC) shared that, some systems, as of July 2025, are operating at just 20–60 per cent of their normal capacity due to declining inflows at surface water sources and, the utility company reported that it moved to regulate water supply in sections of St. Ann, St. Mary, Portland, St. Thomas, and rural St. Andrew arising from the impact of the ongoing drought.
Yet, when there is relief from droughts, it is often violent. In July 2024, Hurricane Beryl swept across the Caribbean, becoming the earliest Category 5 storm ever recorded in the region. In Jamaica, the storm, at category 4 level, disrupted power and flooded river sources, leaving 70 per cent of customers without water, according to the Jamaica Information Service. Restoration efforts were hampered by blocked access roads, debris, and turbidity in water sources, especially in remote areas like St. Thomas, Clarendon, and Manchester.
Across the wider Caribbean, the past decade has seen a surge in high-intensity hurricanes, with four Category 5 and two Category 4 storms striking between 2016 and 2018. These events displaced many children, according to a 2019 UNICEF report titled Children Displaced in a Changing Climate. The result is a climate pendulum that swings between scarcity and excess, disrupting water systems and deepening vulnerabilities.
For menstruating individuals, this means navigating a cycle where clean water is either absent or contaminated, turning menstrual hygiene into a monthly gamble with dignity, safety, and health.
In the recently wrapped 2025 Caribbean Women for Climate Justice (CW4CJ 2025) virtual conference, speaker, Nicole Joseph-Chin, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Trinidad and Tobago-based Ms. Brafit referenced the threat to dignity faced by women and girls and how to establish some resilience in climate crises: “Imagine for a second what it looks and feels like for someone who has just realised that their dignity has been demolished in the blink of an eye,” she said.
“When we hear reports that a hurricane is approaching, or that rainfall will bring uncertainty and fear, we must begin to reimagine climate change and gender justice, especially around safety and security. Men are often mobilised to clear debris and rebuild, but women and girls are rushed to shelters. That moment of displacement is when vulnerabilities expand exponentially. Removed from familiar spaces, they face a lack of security and a breakdown in self-care. The biggest dignity challenge? Many leave with only the underwear they were wearing, if they were wearing any, and only the hygiene items they had access to, if they had any. For days, weeks, even months, their dignity is under siege,” she pointed, stressing that self-care erodes, and women and girls face risks ranging from inadequate care to sexual violence, including, heartbreakingly, from those entrusted with their protection.
Joseph-Chin emphasised that this creates some of the most uncomfortable realities within the gender dialogue, especially when the impact of social displacement of women and girls during climate disasters is considered.
In a comment referencing Ms. Brafit’s work after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she said: “Picture for a minute, a woman during her menstrual cycle having a challenge with getting access to clean underwear and undergarments in hot sticky environments, especially when clustered in a shelter and particularly when there might be limited water hygiene and there may be limited access to soap and wash cloths. There’s now this additional layer of not being able to change your underwear. That meant that we had to deal with the discussion around how to drive that dignity into an action that would be sustainable.”
Lastly, the Brafit founder added that with aid, “…and particularly when there’s an urgent situation, sometimes, perishable things are prioritised, but there’s nothing more perishable than a [vulnerable] woman’s [or girl’s] hygiene, because we have to deal with things like odor, care, issues around skin sensitivities or what can happen as a result [of neglect].”
That said, when it comes to recovery and support, not all vulnerabilities are treated equally. Elderly and medically fragile groups are often prioritised while menstruating women and girls remain an afterthought.
In Jamaica, menstruating individuals are increasingly considered in climate conversations, though largely through grassroots advocacy, photojournalism, and community storytelling rather than formal policy. A 2023 Climate Tracker Caribbean report, prepared by yours truly, documents how water scarcity, worsened by droughts and storms, directly impacts menstrual hygiene in communities like Garden Lane in Rose Town, Kingston, and Richmond Park. Residents described relying on handcart men to fetch water, pooling money to buy water from trucks, and rationing water for basic hygiene during their periods.
These lived realities echo global findings presented in a 2024 document by the Global Menstrual Collective, which notes that climate-related disruptions, such as damaged water infrastructure, displacement, and supply chain breakdowns, compromise access to menstrual products, privacy, and sanitation. A 2023 article on McGill University’s Catalyst website further highlights how Jamaica’s poorest households spend a disproportionate share of their income on water, and how menstrual hygiene is often deprioritised in favour of drinking and cooking. As one woman put it in the Climate Tracker Caribbean article: when water is scarce, you simply “wash the possibles”; a phrase that captures both the improvisation and indignity of managing a period without reliable access to clean water. Despite these clear intersections, menstrual health remains largely absent from Jamaica’s climate policy frameworks, pointing to a critical gap in gender-responsive resilience planning.
I’ve felt that gap firsthand. Though incomparable to what others face daily, part of my experience highlights the ignorance of one person which reflects the mindset of many. Two years ago, I pitched a climate and period poverty story to a male editor in the newsroom I worked in. He called it “nonsensical”, insisting that girls and women don’t struggle with menstrual hygiene during water shortages citing flawed examples of witnessing female family members while he was a child, appropriately managing their periods while facing water insecurity. He laughed at the idea of my story. I was angered, but I was also motivated, and I knew then that I had to tell these stories elsewhere – like through this year’s 350 CCN Storytelling Program.
To supplement this article, I conducted a small-scale informal survey asking respondents questions about their experience with water scarcity during their periods and the following are some stand-out responses.
| In moments of water scarcity, how were you impacted while being on your period? |
| “To some extent. I had to just not shower as early and just ensure that I had enough products to change if full and serve for the duration.” |
| “I usually wear sanitary napkins for 3 hours or no more than 10hrs, and during a situation with limited water supply I would “tidy” and shower once or every other day until there is a clean and consistent water supply.” |
| “I didn’t feel as clean as I would like to and it made me feel conscious of my body and if there was an odor” |
| “I felt uncomfortable and sometimes not 100% clean” |
| “Having a tank made the experience less terrifying” |
| “Had to see water sources elsewhere i.e a Spring and store for use.” |
Table 1
| If you could say one thing to policymakers, community leaders, or decision makers about managing your period and menstrual hygiene in times of little to no water access, what would it be? |
| “Try to make special arrangement similar to a first aid kit.” |
| “Maybe to ensure products are accessible In public places/ central areas where those in need can go comfortably and be cleaned up if they have limited access to water and or products” |
| “Clean water; clean people, clean attitude. We are more confident and equipped to function effectively when we are clean.” |
| “To be holistic and inclusive with your approaches. We must be included in the conversation and decision-making processes.” |
| “Access to clean water in general needs to be a priority but especially in this case as it affects the health of many girls and women. Menstruation is something that happens monthly and so communities not only need access to water but a back up system needs to be in place as changes with the weather often affects the water quality.” |
| “Educate about alternatives in school or media campaign. Provide alternative resources in these times for affected community.” |
| “We should always have access to clean water” |
| “Try to dispatch water to homes where females are living” |
| “Improve access to water, reduction in water cost” |
| “Normalize educating our entire society about the reality of period poverty and making period supplies more affordable and accessible to the less fortunate.” |
| “Be proactive about what the community needs and pay attention.” |
| “Create more awareness on these issues women face.” |
Table 2
Additionally, with a total of 16 respondents, 11 of them or 68.8 per cent said that not enough dialogue and action takes place on the matter of menstrual hygiene as it intersects climate events like droughts and storms. While describing how they feel, all participants indicated some level of discomfort during periods of water scarcity while menstruating. They used words like, “nasty”, “embarrassed”, and “self conscious”.
Their stories echo what the data shows: that water scarcity forces difficult choices, that dignity is rationed, and that menstruation becomes a monthly crisis shaped by silence and shame. Countless people face this on a large scale because of period poverty made worse by climate change, and not enough aid is rendered to them. It is part of my long-term goals to continue this work, and even expand my short, informal survey into a more substantial form of data collection and moving towards solutions.
Change may be on the near horizon, however. In December 2024, Senator Sherene Golding Campbell tabled a motion in the Jamaican Senate calling for the issue of period poverty to be referred to the Bicameral Caucus of Women Parliamentarians. The motion urged investigation and the formulation of proposals to ensure access to sanitary menstrual products for vulnerable women and girls. Golding Campbell emphasised that period poverty isn’t just about products, it’s about access to hygiene facilities, waste management, and education. Her motion marked one of the first formal acknowledgments of menstrual equity as a public policy concern in Jamaica, and a critical step toward bridging the gap between grassroots advocacy and legislative action.
Sherene Golding Campbell
To continue to close that gap, menstrual health must be fully integrated into climate adaptation strategies. This means upgrading water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, ensuring school-based interventions include menstrual education and supplies, and designing disaster kits that carry not just food and medicine, but dignity, because no one should have to choose between clean water and self-respect. Before that, the very taboo nature of a period should be addressed where the human touch of care and rendering aid may be given to menstruation folks in moments where their periods pose a risk because of the lack of water access.
As part of that change. I hope to continue championing menstrual hygiene support, create space for honest conversations, and build awareness through storytelling; amplify the voices of women and girls whose needs are dismissed, whose dignity is compromised, and whose resilience deserves recognition. Their stories matter, and so does mine.
This article was written through the 350 Caribbean Climate Network’s 2025 Storytelling Program…because climate justice must include menstrual justice, too.
Sources:
Global Menstrual Collective. (2024, May). Climate change affects menstrual health: Overview 2024. https://www.globalmenstrualcollective.org/uploads/2024/05/Climate-Change-affects-Menstrual-Health-Overview-2024.pdf
Golding Campbell, S. [@GoldingCampbell]. (2024, December 13). Today I tabled a motion in the Senate for referral of the issue of period poverty to the Bicameral Caucus of Women Parliamentarians for investigation and formulation of proposals to ensure access to sanitary menstrual products for our vulnerable women and girls. #JAparliament [Images attached] [Post]. X. https://x.com/GoldingCampbell/status/1867626854745612724
Jamaica Gleaner. (2025, July 22). Drought forces water restrictions in more parishes. Jamaica Gleaner. https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20250722/drought-forces-water-restrictions-more-parishes
Jamaica Observer. (2022, July 31). Jamaica experienced six incidents of meteorological drought in 2021 — survey. Jamaica Observer. https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2022/07/31/jamaica-experienced-six-incidents-of-meteorological-drought-in-2021-survey/
Joseph-Chin, N. (2025, July 17). Gender, dignity, and resource mobilisation post-disaster [Conference presentation]. In The Climate Conscious & Global Yaadie (Eds.), CW4CJ 2025 Day 1 [Video]. StreamYard. https://streamyard.com/watch/45Fe8UE5nt4b
Maon, L. (2023, November 7). “Not just poor, bloody poor”: Period poverty and climate change in Jamaica. Catalyst McGill. https://catalystmcgill.com/not-just-poor-bloody-poor-period-poverty-and-climate-change-in-jamaica/
Nelson, J. (2024, July 4). NWC working towards full water restoration following the passage of Hurricane Beryl. Jamaica Information Service. https://jis.gov.jm/nwc-working-towards-full-water-restoration-following-the-passage-of-hurricane-beryl/
NASA Earth Observatory. (n.d.). World of change: Global temperatures. NASA. https://earthobservatory.nasa.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2025, January 10). 2024 was the world’s warmest year on record. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.noaa.gov/news/
Stewart, C. (2023, September 21). A look at period poverty experiences in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Global Voices. https://globalvoices.org/2023/09/21/a-look-at-period-poverty-experiences-in-jamaica-and-trinidad-and-tobago/
Thomas, T. (2024, December 16). Motion tabled to improve access to menstrual products for vulnerable women. Nationwide 90FM. https://nationwideradiojm.com/motion-tabled-to-improve-access-to-menstrual-products-for-vulnerable-women/
UNICEF. (2019, December 6). As impact of climate crisis worsens, Caribbean islands see six-fold increase in number of children displaced by storms. https://www.unicef.org/jamaica/press-releases/impact-climate-crisis-worsens-caribbean-islands-see-six-fold-increase-estimated