Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
UNFPA / GAZA MENSTRUAL HYGIENE KITS
STORY: UNFPA / GAZA MENSTRUAL HYGIENE KITS
TRT: 5:24
SOURCE: UNFPA
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNFPA ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 08 FEBRUARY 2024, CULTURE AND FREE THOUGHT ASSOCIATION SHELTERS, AL-MAWASI, GAZA
1. Med shot, Menstrual Hygiene Management kits
2. Wide shot, Menstrual Hygiene Management kits
3. Various shots, kits distribution in indoor shelter area
4. SOUNDBITE(Arabic) Fahima Ebeid, Project Coordinator of UNFPA implementation partner, the Culture and Free Thought Association:
“If we want to discuss its contents, we must begin with the prayer garment, commencing with the undergarments because they are considered very expensive, and all the displaced women couldn't afford to buy them. Or, they fled with very few clothes and couldn't afford to buy these undergarments regularly. Regarding sanitary pads, which are considered very expensive, it's crucial for a woman to have them available monthly. And, of course, soap. The items in the kit, such as slippers, are essential because displacement and the harsh conditions they're living in have worn out all their shoes. They're forced to walk in men's shoes or even barefoot, so having these slippers was greatly in demand. Shampoo, of course, because, as you know, shampoo is completely unavailable in all areas of the Gaza Strip, in all governorates.”
5. Various shots, kits distribution in outdoor shelters
6. SOUNDBITE(Arabic) Farah, 18/ Internally displaced person:
“Thank God, little by little things are improving, and they provide services, a bit of food, a bit of these health-related items. Like, for example, in the bag, there was shampoo. For instance, we fled without anything. There were inner leggings for warmth because we are by the sea, and in the tents, it's very windy and cold. So, it was very warm, and of course, the health-related items that come for each girl. So, it was something not available to everyone. And these things, like slippers for example, are never available, even if you want to find them, they would be expensive, and you might not find them at all.”
7. Med shot, a woman goes through the content in a kit
8. Wide shot, tents
9. Wide shot, kit distribution
10. Med shot, a woman and a man go through the content in a kit
11. Med shot, a woman and a man go through the content in a kit
12. Close up, a woman and a man go through the content in a kit
13. Close up, Menstrual Hygiene Management kits
14. Various shots, kits distribution
15. SOUNDBITE(Arabic) Bakiza Mohamed Abdel Rahman Nasrallah, 47/Internally displaced person:
“I have a young daughter, and she's 16 years old.”
16. SOUNDBITE(Arabic) Bakiza Mohamed Abdel Rahman Nasrallah, 47/Internally displaced person:
“So, when I go to buy a pack of sanitary pads, it costs me 10 shekels, 15 shekels. It used to cost two or three shekels. And now, see how much it is?”
17. SOUNDBITE(Arabic) Bakiza Mohamed Abdel Rahman Nasrallah, 47/Internally displaced person:
“When we needed, I mean, I would cut a piece of cloth to use as a pad. What can I do? I mean, that's the best I can do. I am a widow, I have no husband, no son, and I have no one, and my daughter's husband was martyred. So I ended up tearing pieces of fabric to manage, and my daughter told me, "Mama, I can't do this!" But what can I do?”
With attacks ongoing, aid choked off, a healthcare system on its knees and winter bearing down, 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza face inhumane conditions. UN agencies are reporting mounting hunger with famine on the horizon, rising malnutrition rates and rapidly spreading disease. With over 70 per cent of civilian infrastructure - including homes, hospitals, schools, water, and sanitation facilities - destroyed or severely damaged, around 90% of Gaza’s population have now been forcibly displaced. Half of Gaza’s population is now squeezed into Rafah, in fear of further attacks, many of them displaced multiple times and living in squalid conditions.
There are over 690,000 menstruating women and adolescent girls in Gaza, who currently have limited access to menstrual hygiene products in addition to inadequate water, hygiene, access to toilets and privacy. This puts them at risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections; as well as of exploitation and abuse due to the lack of essential items including children’s clothing, diapers, sanitary pads in the local markets and soaring prices. Breastfeeding mothers - many of them malnourished - lack hygienic, private areas to breastfeed their newborns.
The footage below was taken in a shelter in Al-Mawasi, approximately 6 miles north of Rafah and 4 miles west of Khan Younis. The shelter is run by UNFPA’s partner, ‘Culture and Free Thought Association’ (CFTA). CFTA has seven shelters between Khan Younis and Rafah, but only three are currently in operation, housing an estimated 1000 families between them. Through CFTA, UNFPA has provided cash assistance to 400-500 women, and 2000 menstrual health management kits.
Since the start of the current hostilities in Gaza, UNFPA has distributed thousands of menstrual health management, family hygiene and adolescent dignity kits, as well as one-off cash transfers to vulnerable women, including pregnant and breastfeeding women. UNFPA is reaching out to thousands of women at risk of gender-based violence with awareness on psycho-social support (PSS), health, protection, and hygiene in shelters, as well as facilitating first aid PSS through young volunteers. But these responses are just a drop in the ocean. A humanitarian ceasefire is needed now to stop the suffering and enable humanitarians to reach people in desperate need.
Download
There is no media available to download.
