I can tell you about the lifesaving power of tampons on the battlefields of Ukraine.

As Communications Manager for the Afya Foundation, a nonprofit delivering medical supplies to compromised healthcare systems, my gutsiest story idea was one I did not get the green light to pursue. The war in Ukraine was unlike anything Afya had ever seen. Supply chain issues—driven by the pandemic and war—had plagued the healthcare industry for years, but in the summer of 2022, a global tampon shortage posed a new challenge. Afya had been shipping these menstrual care products to frontline medics in Ukraine for months as a makeshift tool to plug bullet wounds. Now, these supplies were in jeopardy. I drafted an op-ed to garner the attention of hospitals and medical suppliers around the country to diversify Afya’s donor supply chain.