Introduction

In August 2025, as floods devastated several regions of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Baithak – Challenging Taboos launched the BehnChara Fund, an emergency fundraising campaign to provide menstrual health and safe delivery kits to women and girls in the most affected areas.

The initiative aimed to address the immediate health and dignity needs of women who often remain invisible in disaster response plans. With the support of our community of donors, allies, and volunteers, the BehnChara Fund enabled the distribution of essential supplies to ensure that women’s menstrual and maternal health needs were not overlooked during the crisis.

The flood response was designed and is being implemented in three phases:

• Phase I: Immediate response through the distribution of menstrual and safe delivery kits in coordination with local partners and onground volunteers including BehnChara Collective members.
• Phase II: Monitoring and follow-up through community visits to assess on-ground impact and remaining needs. (Completed)
• Phase III: Planned interventions shaped by insights gathered during Phase II, focusing on strengthening community-based responses and expanding reach in underserved areas.

Rather than relying on a single standardized assessment, Baithak adopted a context-responsive approach, allowing local partners to flag urgent needs based on their proximity to and trust within communities.

The distribution process followed a decentralized, partner-led model, designed to adapt to varying ground realities across regions:

1. Logistics and Transport: Due to disrupted road access and remote locations, transportation relied on a combination of Pakistan post, organizational logistics support, local transport arrangements, and volunteer-led delivery.
2. Packaging: Kits were packaged with the support of partner organizations and volunteers in Islamabad.
3. Logistics and Transport: Due to disrupted road access and remote locations, transportation relied on a combination of Pakistan post, organizational logistics support, local transport arrangements, and volunteer-led delivery.
4. On-ground Distribution: Kits were distributed directly to girls and women through local mobilizers and community volunteers, often at temporary shelters, tents, or host households. In many locations, distributions were accompanied by informal guidance on kit use.

Alongside the distributions, four medical camps were organized: two in Swat, reaching around 150 women patients, and two in Buner; one at Bishnoi serving 200+ patients, and one at Gokand serving approximately 150 women patients.

Based on consolidated records from our flood response efforts approximately 11,000 menstrual health kits and 500 safe delivery kits were distributed across the targeted regions