It’s been about a month since aid began trickling into Gaza after an 11-week total blockade. Tragically, the amount hasn’t been nearly enough to meet the needs of hungry and exhausted women and girls.

Right now, at least 470,000 people in Gaza, including 11,000 pregnant women, are on the verge of starving to death. We’re supporting pregnant women and newborns with nutritional supplements whenever we can, but beyond food, the unique needs of women and girls often go unmet.

“Sometimes I need pads and soap more than I need food,” shared Aisha, a teenage girl living through this nightmare.

Gifts from supporters like you throughout this humanitarian emergency have delivered lifesaving supplies and care to women and girls in Gaza, including nutritional supplements, prenatal care, and UNFPA Dignity Kits with menstrual pads. We are still deploying trucks with aid and our teams are working hard to reach as many women and girls as possible in Gaza and beyond. Please, will you make a lifesaving gift today?

A mother and daughter shelter at a displacement camp in Gaza.

“My period started while I was in a crowded shelter. I only had one pad, so I wrapped it with toilet paper to make it last. I couldn’t wash, and the pain was horrible. I sat in silence crying until the end of the day,” shared another girl in Gaza.

Every month, 700,000 women and girls get their period in Gaza — under bombardment and in filthy, cramped displacement camps with no chance of changing or washing in privacy.

Less than a quarter of the 10 million menstrual pads needed every month are available. Many women and girls are forced to use old clothes, torn fabric, or sponges, often reusing them without proper washing.

“I tore my only shirt into pieces so my daughters could use them instead of pads,” said a father of four daughters.

Another girl said, “I use pieces of my clothes instead of pads and I got an infection. Every time my period comes, I wish I weren’t a girl.”

Thousands of women in Gaza are expected to suffer from similar infections, many for months without treatment. Without care, these infections can lead to intense pain, illness, and long-term gynecological complications.

Your support today would be a lifeline to women and girls managing their periods in Gaza and in crisis zones around the world. Thank you for not forgetting the unique needs of women and girls.

As the humanitarian emergency in Gaza continues, the sexual and reproductive health needs of women and girls deepen. If you’re able, will you make a gift today and be there for women and girls surviving crises around the world?

We condemn the violence in Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel, and hope for a sustained humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas, and an end to the violence. The suffering must end and peace must prevail.

Thank you for being there,

— USA FOR UNFPA