Nevis Launches Menstrual Health Education Project in All Public Schools

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (February 11, 2025) – The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) has officially launched the Menstrual Health Education Project in all public schools, marking a significant step in advancing menstrual health awareness and support on the island. 

The initiative was formally introduced on February 4, 2025, during a workshop held at the Nevis Disaster Management Department’s Emergency Operations Center at Long Point.

Project Assistant at Lake Health and Wellbeing, Jay Robinson, highlighted the significance of the project during the launch event.

“This launch signifies one that prioritizes menstrual health as an essential part of health and human rights. Through partnerships, training, and programs that we introduce today, we are ensuring that menstrual health is no longer a topic shrouded in silence, but one embraced with knowledge and empowerment.”

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Zahnela Claxton, endorsed the project on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

“We are so very proud to endorse this menstrual health education programme, spearheaded by the Department of Gender Affairs and Lake Health and Wellbeing, as a critical step toward fostering a more informed, confident, and healthy generation of young women.”

She stated that by educating both boys and girls, they were cultivating a society that respected and supported the natural processes of the human body, ensuring that menstrual health was seen not only as a private burden but as a shared responsibility.

“Menstrual health and hygiene are fundamental to the well-being of our girls. As we heard, as we know about the project as well, it’s not limited to our girls.

“This program is designed to break down the barriers by providing accurate information, essential resources, and in a supportive environment where our girls can navigate the natural stage of life with dignity and confidence. The conversation about menstrual health must not be limited to our girls alone, so boys must understand the essential role that they, too, play in this conversation and this process. Understanding menstrual health fosters empathy and reduces stigma, and it helps to create a school culture and a culture on our island as a whole, where no girl feels ashamed or embarrassed.”

Director of the Department of Gender Affairs, Saros Hendrickson, noted that the program is the result of two years of research across 14 schools on the island.

Minister of Health and Gender Affairs, the Honourable Jahnel Nisbett, underscored one of the project’s key objectives.

“It’s just the same as you have toilet paper accessible in a bathroom, you would have these things readily available if it was men and boys. As women, as girls, as men, as our allies, we have to advocate for this move forward, and that’s why that’s one of the core components of this project, being able to provide some of those in the schools to support individuals who are facing period poverty when you’re not able to, people think it’s down to a science, no, sometimes your period comes as a surprise, so we want to be able to support those girls so that their education is not disrupted in that way.”

The Menstrual Health Education Project is supported by Lake Health and Wellbeing, WASH United, UNICEF, and the Advancement of Children Foundation, in collaboration with the Nevis Department of Gender Affairs.

Among the attendees at the launch event were Director of Sports, Jamir Claxton; Coordinator at the Nevis Health Promotion Unit, Nadine Carty; Abi Begho, Program Director at Lake Health and Wellbeing; Lyston Skerritt, Adolescent Development Specialist at the UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area; as well as guidance counsellors, teachers, students, and other stakeholders.

END