Andorra: EC pills to be sold without prescription 

June 6, 2018. The Ministry of Health of Andorra announced today that, upon review of the current provision policies for emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), pharmacists have been informed that prescription requirements have been lifted. Andorra currently has both LNG and UPA ECP products in the market. The safety profile of ECPs, the critical importance of facilitating…

Bosnia i Herzegovina: new EC counselling tool

June 1, 2018. Partnership for Public Health translates into local language in Bosnia i Herzegovina and pre-tests the EC wheel. This work was conducted in collaboration with the Family Physician Association of the Federation of Bosnia i Herzegovina, and the Family Physician Association of Republika Srpska, and with support from UNFPA.The local version of the wheel was produced in June…

Contraception Atlas 2018

April 11, 2018. The European Parliamentary Forum on Population & Development (EPF) launches the Contraception Atlas 2018. In this second edition, the Atlas tracks government policies on a) access to contraceptive methods, b) family planning counselling and c) provision of online information on contraception, in 46 European states. Belgium, France and the United Kingdom rank…

New IPPF Statement on EC

March 20th, 2018. The International Medical Advisory Panel (IMAP) of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), just published its new Statement on emergency contraception (EC). This document offers guidance for health care providers to strengthen the provision of EC services according to the latest research, experiences and international recommendations. While the Statement is primarily intended to inform IPPF Member Associations, it also provides…

In Italy, gynaecologist requests affordable and more accessible EC pills

The Italian Medical Contraception Society (SMIC)  is requesting to the Ministry of Health and the national Medicines Agency that  EC pills are mandatorily stocked in all pharmacies, in order to make them more accessible and reduce time to start of treatment; and that EC is covered by the national health system, and thus provided free of charged in, at…

Council of Europe recommendations to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe

December 5, 2017.  The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, issued a set of recommendations addressed to States on how to better ensure women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Europe. Read the full report here. The recommendations underscore that women’s sexual & reproductive rights are human rights, and that States have…

Contraception d’urgence: formation en ligne

In early 2017, the Groupe interdisciplinaire d’expert·e·s en contraception d’urgence (IENK) and the University of Basel developed an audiovisual four module training aimed at strengthening EC counselling in Swiss pharmacies. The four videos are available in French in this You Tube channel and also from IENK website, along with other useful resources in French, German and Italian.

Switzerland: when and how to refer an EC request?

September 2017.  The delivery of EC by pharmacists is an important contribution to the promotion of sexual health and allows easier access to the method. When pharmacists have the necessary knowledge, the majority of emergency contraception issues can be resolved in the pharmacy, enabling the woman to take the most suitable EC method immediately on site. In some situations,…

UK: LNG EC pills more affordable in some pharmacies

July 2017. The British health retailer Superdrug (the second largest chain in the United Kingdom) announced on June 27th the sell of a generic levonorgestrel (LNG) emergency contraceptive pill, at less than half the price of the currently branded EC pills. Ezinelle will be sold at around 15,30 €, while currently the rest of LNG brands…

EC news from Italy

June  2017. A new survey and a web discussion have provided new data  about whether and how Italian women’s awareness of and access to EC has changed following the availability of UPA EC without a prescription in 2015. According to this data, 90% of the women consulted consider EC useful and 91% think it is effective; but on…

EC use studies from Barcelona

9 June  2017.  Two studies about EC use in  Barcelona, were recently released. The Catalan health authorities looked at EC users’ profiles and other characteristics in sentinel pharmacies of the province of Barcelona, with the aim of improving the contraception program. This study found that the average age of women buying EC was 28 years old, and 56% of customers…