In recognition of May as Menstrual Health Awareness Month, Scrub Life Cares, a public health nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing menstrual equity, reproductive and sexual health education, maternal and child health, and overall community wellness, has officially launched its month-long Menstrual Health Awareness Campaign under the theme of working toward a more period-friendly Antigua and Barbuda.
Throughout the month of May, Scrub Life Cares will lead a series of community-centered activities, partnerships, public education efforts, workplace conversations, school and youth engagement, media outreach, and advocacy initiatives designed to reduce menstrual stigma, expand access to accurate menstrual health education, and encourage national conversations around periods as a public health, education, gender equity, and community wellness issue.
Founded by Tanya Ambrose, MPH, a public health practitioner specializing in maternal, child, and reproductive health, Scrub Life Cares has spent the past several years working across Antigua and Barbuda, the wider Caribbean, and underserved communities in South Carolina to address period poverty, reproductive health education gaps, and barriers that impact the health, dignity, and well-being of women, girls, youth, and families.
“Menstrual health is health. Period,” said Tanya Ambrose, Founder and CEO of Scrub Life Cares. “For too long, conversations around menstruation have been treated as private, uncomfortable, or shameful. But periods affect school attendance, workplace participation, mental health, physical health, access to care, dignity, and overall quality of life. This campaign is about bringing menstrual health into the open and helping Antigua and Barbuda move toward becoming a truly period-friendly nation.”
As part of the campaign, Scrub Life Cares will collaborate with key national and community partners, including the Antigua and Barbuda Directorate of Gender Affairs, the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, schools, businesses, community organizations, athletes, advocates, and healthcare professionals to help amplify the message that menstrual health matters across every space — homes, schools, workplaces, sports environments, healthcare systems, and communities.
The campaign will also highlight the importance of period-positive workplaces and supportive environments that understand, respect, and accommodate menstruation. Scrub Life Cares has been engaging with businesses and organizations to raise awareness about the importance of access to menstrual products, clean and private facilities, supportive policies, and stigma-free conversations. These efforts are part of a wider push to help employers understand how menstrual health intersects with productivity, employee well-being, gender equity, and psychosocial health.
A major component of the month will be Scrub Life Cares’ 5th Annual Grow with the Flo Women & Girls Health Expo, scheduled for Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the Cana Moravian Church Grounds in Swetes Village. The expo has grown into one of the organization’s flagship community health events, bringing together women, girls, families, schools, health professionals, businesses, and community organizations for a day of education, empowerment, resources, screenings, interactive activities, and meaningful conversations around menstrual health, reproductive health, maternal and child health, mental wellness, disability inclusion, nutrition, and whole-person care.
This year’s expo is especially significant as Scrub Life Cares continues to expand the conversation beyond menstrual products to reflect a broader, whole-person approach to health and well-being. New and expanded components will include a stronger focus on maternal health, perinatal and family wellness, and a more intentional neurodivergent and disability-inclusive aspect to ensure that women, girls, families, and individuals of varying abilities are represented, supported, and included in the conversation. The organization anticipates hundreds of attendees and will continue its tradition of creating a safe, inclusive, interactive, and educational space that connects menstrual health to reproductive health, maternal and child health, mental wellness, accessibility, and community care.
The campaign will culminate around Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28, a global day of action recognized by advocates, organizations, and communities around the world to raise awareness about menstrual health and hygiene. In recognition of the day, Scrub Life Cares is inviting the general public, schools, businesses, healthcare workers, community groups, athletes, and families across Antigua and Barbuda to wear red or pink, take photos, and share messages of support using Scrub Life Cares’ campaign messaging and social media tags.
By encouraging the public to wear red or pink on May 28, Scrub Life Cares hopes to spark visible community participation and help normalize conversations about menstrual health.
“This is not just a campaign for women and girls. This is a national public health conversation,” Ambrose shared. “Men, boys, parents, teachers, employers, healthcare workers, policymakers, faith leaders, and community members all have a role to play in creating environments where people can manage their periods with dignity and without shame.”
Scrub Life Cares’ work is anchored in public health practice, research, education, and community engagement. The organization has led school and community sessions on menstrual health, puberty, consent, body literacy, reproductive health, maternal health, and wellness; distributed menstrual and hygiene products to underserved communities; conducted original menstrual health research in Antigua and Barbuda; collaborated with regional and international partners; and advocated for stronger policies and programs that support adolescent health, menstrual equity, and reproductive health education.
The organization’s menstrual health research has also been accepted for presentation at major public health and adolescent health platforms, further strengthening Antigua and Barbuda’s presence in global conversations around menstrual health and health equity. In addition, Scrub Life Cares has contributed to global advocacy around the integration of menstrual health and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education into adolescent health policies and programs.
Through this campaign, Scrub Life Cares is also emphasizing the critical role that national institutions can play. The Ministries of Health, Education, Gender Affairs, Youth, Sports, and Social Transformation all stand to benefit from a stronger, coordinated menstrual health approach. Menstrual health education can support school attendance, improve adolescent health outcomes, reduce stigma, encourage early care-seeking for menstrual concerns, support gender equity, and strengthen public health prevention efforts across the life course.
A period-friendly Antigua and Barbuda means more than access to pads. It means children and adolescents receive accurate, age-appropriate education. It means schools are equipped with supportive environments. It means workplaces understand menstruation as part of employee wellness. It means healthcare systems take menstrual pain, heavy bleeding, irregular cycles, endometriosis, fibroids, perimenopause, and other concerns seriously. It means communities no longer treat periods as shameful, but as a normal and important part of health.
Scrub Life Cares believes this month-long campaign is an opportunity to shift culture, strengthen partnerships, and position Antigua and Barbuda as a regional leader in menstrual health education, period equity, and community-based public health action.
“We are working toward a future where no girl misses school because of her period, no woman feels ashamed to speak about her body, no employee feels unsupported at work, and no community treats menstrual health as an afterthought,” said Ambrose. “This is about dignity, health, education, equity, and national progress.”
Scrub Life Cares invites the public, schools, businesses, media houses, community organizations, government ministries, and national leaders to support the campaign, attend the Grow with the Flo Women & Girls Health Expo on May 23, and participate in Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28 by wearing red or pink and helping to amplify the message that menstrual health is health.