Sexual and reproductive health in disasters
When disasters strike, people often think about food, water, and shelter. But disasters don’t stop pregnancies, childbirth, or the need for communities to access essential health services, especially women and girls.
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, facing frequent disasters, including typhoons, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. When a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines on 8 June 2026, months of preparation pivoted to immediate response. Health workers were mobilised quickly, prepositioned humanitarian supplies were deployed, and coordination mechanisms were activated across the Government of the Philippines, United Nations (UN) agencies, and donor partners.
In the months prior to the Mindanao earthquake, Jennifer began her deployment as the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Gender-based Violence Specialist deployed to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Philippines. She works closely with the UNFPA Philippines Humanitarian Coordinator, Dofel Calla, who both believe preparedness is about ensuring communities are ready long before a disaster strikes. ‘When crises hit, women and girls, including vulnerable people, such as people with disabilities, young people, and the elderly are the most affected,’ said Dofel.
Prepared to save lives: Minimum Initial Service Package
Over 500 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every day in humanitarian and fragile settings.
For Jennifer and the UNFPA Philippines, that statistic reinforces why preparedness is so important. Across the Philippines, Jennifer delivered a Training of Trainers on the Minimum Initial Service Package, commonly referred to as ‘MISP’. ‘The MISP is a set of critical lifesaving activities, interventions, or actions which are being implemented during emergencies,’ explained Jennifer.
The MISP supports safe childbirth, access to family planning, care for survivors of sexual violence, prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Most importantly, it helps governments and health partners strengthen services as communities recover.
‘Once their skills are strengthened on response, prevention, and preparedness, it makes it easy for them to continue providing services,’ said Jennifer. ‘They are within the community, they understand the context, and they understand the needs.’
After a disaster strikes, every second counts to save lives and alleviate suffering. ‘It’s [MISP] normally implemented from 48 hours of any disaster,’ said Jennifer. ‘Unless these services are coordinated within 48-72 hours, there is a lot of missed opportunities caused by the shocks of these disasters.’
Throughout the trainings she delivered, she was impressed with the passion and dedication community health workers had shown in disaster response. ‘What impressed me the most… was their passion, enthusiasm, and resilience to respond to emergency and their willingness to learn how the MISP is being implemented during a disaster,’ said Jennifer. ‘Despite so many disasters taking place, they felt like the training [on MISP] enhanced their ability to respond.’
‘Despite so many disasters taking place, they felt like the training [on MISP] enhanced their ability to respond.’
Responding to the Mindanao Earthquake
Just months after Jennifer had helped prepare local health workers and government partners for future emergencies, that preparedness was put to the test when the Mindanao earthquake struck, affecting approximately 1.6 million people. UNFPA Philippines quickly mobilised, alongside the Philippines Department of Health (DoH) to support the response, while Jennifer provided remote technical support.
As part of this response, Jennifer helped adapt the MISP assessment tools for local communities. This enabled the DoH to conduct an initial assessment of affected communities, using MISP assessment tools that reflected the local needs. ‘This allowed the rapid validation of damaged health facilities in the most affected areas,’ noted Dofel. Once the validation was complete, UNFPA Philippines with the support of the Australian Government, was able to deploy a fully equipped medical tent facility within the Sarangani province, while the damaged facilities were being renovated. ‘Her expertise has left a tangible blueprint for our humanitarian support to the Philippine government,’ said Dofel. It was through Jennifer’s support to the UNFPA Philippines that emergency medical care helped prevent the deaths of mothers and their babies.
Alongside this work, UNFPA Philippines distributed pre-positioned Australia-funded maternity and dignity kits to women and girls affected by the earthquakes.
Dignity kits are designed to address the specific needs of women and girls related to hygiene and safety. The kit include essentials, like a pack of underwear, a mirror, toothbrush and toothpaste, a t-shirt, towel, sanitary towels, and a torch. ‘It’s a standard kit which is designed to support women, girls, adolescents and young people during the crisis to maintain their dignity, just in case a crisis happens and they are not able to access it from the markets,’ said Jennifer. ‘[During a disaster] because the structures and systems are destroyed, having these kinds of kits will help them.’
Maternity kits were also provided to pregnant women affected by the disaster. ‘For maternity kits, it was for women who were visibly pregnant,’ said Jennifer. ‘It contains two towels for a baby, a shawl for carrying the baby, a pair of scissors in case of an emergency childbirth that could have taken place, and a tetracycline eye ointment to prevent infections for the baby’s eyes.’
Every voice matters
For Jennifer, the most enduring legacy she hopes to leave behind is that SRH is a fundamental human right and that women and girls’ voices matter.
‘Women and girls in disaster-affected locations should know that their health, their safety, their dignity and their voices are very important,’ Jennifer said. ‘Their health is a fundamental right.’
Jennifer believes listening to women and girls is essential to strengthening humanitarian action. Their experiences help governments, humanitarian organisations and communities better understand local needs and shape more effective responses.
‘Their voices help us develop better programming mechanisms, in terms of how to respond to their needs and ensure they have access to sexual and reproductive health services.’
‘Their voices matter a lot.’
'Women and girls in disaster-affected locations should know that their health, their safety, their dignity and their voices are very important.'
Disclaimer: The information and views published here are the individual’s own and do not necessarily represent the partner organisation, Australia Assists or the Australian Government’s views, positions or opinions.