The toolkit aims to provide streamlined guidance to support organizations and agencies seeking to rapidly integrate menstrual hygiene management (MHM) into existing programming across sectors and phases. It was designed to support a range of humanitarian actors involved in the planning and delivery of emergency responses. It includes key assessment questions, case studies from around the world, design considerations, resources for gathering monitoring and feedback, and links to additional resources.
The MHM in Emergencies Toolkit is part of a project in collaboration between Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the International Rescue Committee under R2HC/ elrha. The aim of this project is to expand the evidence and guidance on MHM during emergencies. Formative assessments were conducted in two humanitarian response settings (Myanmar and Lebanon) at the onset of the project in addition to interviews with global humanitarian experts and a desk review. The toolkit was then piloted in an on-going emergency context (refugee camps in Tanzania) where it was evaluated and further improved upon. Learning from these various assessments has been utilized for both the development of the toolkit and a series of academic publications.
There are 4 components of the Toolkit:
