Dr Sandra Lindsay, the Jamaican nurse who made history as the first person in the United States to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, has returned home with a new mission—tackling period poverty. On Peace Day, observed nationwide on Tuesday, she launched Dignity for All at Camperdown High School in Kingston, providing free pad dispensers in school bathrooms for the next year. Dr Lindsay was moved to act after hearing the struggles of Jamaican women, especially those with uterine fibroids, who couldn’t afford menstrual pads. She highlighted the emotional and economic toll, including depression, isolation, and job loss. Determined to help, she researched the issue abroad and is now working to make a difference at home.
“My research revealed that 44 per cent of our women here in Jamaica experience period poverty, and 20 per cent of our girls miss school during their periods because they can’t afford period supplies, as well as cramps and pains, but there is also a huge stigma still, which started when I was growing up here, and the stigma still continues when women are having their periods,” she told GoodHeart.
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Dr Lindsay highlighted that many women lack access to period supplies and feel ashamed to talk about periods due to stigma. She aims to help change this in Jamaican society by giving back to her country in a meaningful way.
“The goal of the Dignity for All campaign/ initiative is really to help our women and girls restore their dignity, to normalize having periods, to uplift them, to empower them; to deal with their periods with confidence and make them feel valued and seen. I wanted to start in the high schools, because if our high schools students are not coming to school because of their periods and not being able to afford supplies, [they’ll] miss out on their education and future opportunities … they’ll fall behind and not get that equity in pay and opportunities, and I want to change that. No girl should ever stay home from school because they can’t afford period supplies,” she explained.
As vice president of public health advocacy at Northwell Health, one of New York’s largest health facilities, Dr Lindsay shared her vision, highlighting the generous support from employees who helped gather the sanitary napkins and dispensers she brought to Jamaica last week.
Donations came from BronxCare, Allied Foundation in Long Island, Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Egal (which provided a year’s supply of pads for Camperdown High School), and individuals from Ohio and Chicago. Dr Lindsay also mentioned that some supplies were donated by women who had experienced period poverty, accompanied by heartfelt letters.
“So this has really just been a rewarding and gratifying experience for me, and I do feel like I’m making a meaningful difference, and so my goal is to keep going. Our next stop will be Glenmuir High School, my alma mater, the women’s health clinic at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, one of the Mustard Seed Homes, and we hope to expand to more high schools as we get more donations.”
Dr Lindsay registered the Sandra Lindsay Foundation in 2024 as a platform to assist others, with the Dignity for All campaign being one of its initiatives. For the past two years, she has been returning to Jamaica to lead surgical missions sponsored by Northwell Health, performing life-changing gynecological surgeries for under-resourced women.
Another hope for Jamaica is to get more men to support women and girls facing period challenges, especially during their time of the month. During the first handover session, Dr Lindsay made sure the boys weren’t just bystanders—she brought them into the conversation. She encouraged them to support their female peers, teaching them about menstruation and how it affects the body. More importantly, she emphasized kindness, ensuring they understood the importance of offering support rather than ridicule if a girl had an “accident” at school.
“We need as many men to support us as much as possible, because men have sisters, mothers, wives, aunts, girlfriends and friends, and we want them to understand that there should be no shame around it. It should be normal. We need to make sure they too are also educated,” she said. (The Jamaica Gleaner)
