Author: Cristina Puig

Over a 140 participants from 19 countries, representing governments, parliaments, civil society, young people and academia, gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria in May 27-29, 2015,  to participate in the Regional Conference “Promoting Health and Rights, Reducing Inequalities: Towards Better Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”. Participants in the Conference, conveyed by…

May 28 is the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. The European Consortium for Emergency Contraception supports the May 28 campaign and its call on governments worldwide to respect, protect, and fulfill women’s right to health, dignity, and bodily integrity and to end violence against women in all its forms. Please visit the campaign website and sign…

The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) has decreed, as of April 21, 2015, that UPA EC will now be available without a prescription in Italy for women who are 18 years of age or older. AIFA has also announced that women will not need to take a pregnancy test before being able to access UPA EC….

On March 24, 2015, the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) launched a new Barometer of Women’s Access to Modern Contraceptive Choice in 16 EU Countries (Extended). This report analyses how easily women in 16 EU countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain,…

ECEC has recently become aware of two great videos that detail EC’s mode of action. The first one, released by HRA Pharma this year, can be found here. The second one, which was released by the Royal Women’s Hospital in Australia and is designed to reach adolescents and girls, can be found here. Both of…

The Italian edition of Emergency Contraception: A guideline for service provision in Europe is already available.  See Contraccezione di emergenza Una linea guida per la fornitura di servizi in Europa. This edition has been published in March 2015 with the endorsement of the Societa’ Italiana di Ginecologia e Ostetricia, Associazione Ostetrici Ginecologi Ospedalieri Italiani, Societa’…

The Ministry of Health in Luxembourg announced on March 17 that UPA EC is available in pharmacies without a prescription since February 1, 2015. Click here to read Ministry statement. We have also been informed that UPA EC pills will be available for direct purchase in pharmacies in the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain in the coming weeks…

In February 2015, the Portuguese Society of Contraception launched a practical EC guide for pharmacists. After Portugal decided to follow the European Union Commission recommendation to make UPA EC accessible directly from pharmacies without prescription, UPA EC is expected to be available directly from pharmacists in the country in the next few months. The Portuguese…

Despite the fact that the European Commission recently ruled that ulipristal acetate (UPA) EC pills could be accessible directly from pharmacies without the need for a prescription, the Hungarian State Secretariat for Health has indicated that all EC pills will remain prescription-only. The Secretariat claims to base this decision out of patient safety concerns, and…

The Polish organization Federation for Women and Family Planning, which works for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, has published a petition demanding that the Polish Ministry of Health implement the European Commission recommendations that emergency contraception be sold over the counter. To read and sign the petition, please click here (in Polish and English)….

December 17 marks the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers and is observed annually by sex workers, their advocates, friends, families, and allies. The day calls attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide as well as the need to remove the social stigma and discrimination that have contributed to violence against…