Menstrual health support for women and girls with intellectual disabilities

Veivanua campaign improves menstrual health for women and girls with intellectual disabilities in Vanuatu. World Vision and partners provide reusable period packs and practice dolls. The approach uses adapted storytelling, proved resilient in cyclones and COVID-19, and is scaling to more provinces.

World Vision Vanuatu, a national branch of the global NGO World Vision, runs the Veivanua campaign to address menstrual health for women with intellectual disabilities. Developed with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, it provides training for women with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, and distributes reusable ‘period packs’ combined with story-based education. Starting in 2021, by 2025 the campaign had reached 63 women with disabilities and is currently being scaled in Vanuatu.

Problems Targeted

Women with intellectual disabilities are excluded from menstrual health services and also from information in crisis settings.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The Veivanua campaign is an evidence-based and rights-focused initiative improving menstrual health for women and girls with intellectual disabilities in Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific that has consistently been ranked as a country with the highest risk of disasters in several recent editions of the WorldRiskReport. The campaign was developed by World Vision Vanuatu with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and adapted from the Bishesta campaign in Nepal. It distributes “period packs” – accessible reusable menstrual kits (for usually 50 to 60 washes), each with a practice doll – and leverages interactive, locally developed storytelling tools featuring protagonists with disabilities. The approach was effective through multiple cyclones and the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating resilience and suitability for humanitarian contexts. Rigorous qualitative evaluation, including in-depth interviews and photovoice methods, found that the programme increased a caregiver’s confidence and preparedness, and helped participants achieve improved privacy and menstrual autonomy. The campaign reached 30 people with intellectual disabilities and 35 caregivers (male and female) during its initial rollout in Sanma Province. From 2023 to 2025 the campaign expanded to Tanna Island, reaching 33 more women and girls. From 2025 to 2027 the campaign will be delivered in three more provinces, reaching many more people with disabilities.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The campaign is supported by World Vision with funds from Elrha, a global charity; the New Zealand Government; partner NGOs; and, operationally, the Vanuatu Services for Persons with Disabilities and REEMI Charitable Trust. It uses reusable materials and adaptive educational methods and is positioned for regional and global transfer. World Vision aims to adapt the campaign in more of their country programmes. (#ZeroCall26)

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