UNFPA Barbados Liaison Office is gearing up for the 2022 Hurricane Season with the prepositioning of dignity kits. The Liaison Office which covers 10 countries in the Eastern Caribbean, will be prepositioning kits in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados and Dominica. Volunteers were readily available during the first quarter of the year, to assist  with completing this activity. 

In addition to the packaging of the kits, site visits were also made to the National Office of Disaster Services based in Antigua & Barbuda. Denise Blackstock, Liaison Officer, along with Salome Deazle, Warehouse Manager, NODS, did their inventory checks to confirm all kits were in good condition. Site visits were also done in Barbados, with the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs.

Dignity Kits help women and girls maintain proper hygiene after being displaced and are a critical component of the UNFPA humanitarian response. Dignity kits contain hygiene and sanitary items, as well as other items explicitly tailored towards the local needs of women and girls of reproductive age in particular communities. Generic hygiene kits help people improve cleanliness (with items such as soap, sanitary materials, toothbrushes and toothpaste). Whilst dignity kits are similar to basic hygiene kits often distributed at the onset of emergencies, dignity kits serve a broader purpose and so contain a wider range of items.