Canada: warning of unauthorized LNG ECPs sold on-line

May 2023. Health authorities in Canada issued a warning to consumers about unauthorized versions of levonorgestrel emergency contraception pills (and also other drugs for medical abortion) being sold on-line in the Canadian market.  “Unauthorized health products have not been approved by Health Canada, which means that they have not been assessed for safety, efficacy and…

Canada: LNG EC free of cost in British Columbia

Canada: LNG EC free of cost in British Columbia

April 2023. As of this month, in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) some brands of LNG emergency contraception pills (ECPs) are available free of cost directly from pharmacies. This gratuity scheme is run by British Columbia Pharma Care (the publicly funded program thathelps residents pay for eligible prescription drugs, and certain medical supplies…

RHSC: Data on public procurement of EC from low- and middle-income countries.

RHSC: Data on public procurement of EC from low- and middle-income countries.

April 2023. In December 2022, the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) published The Family Planning Market Report. This report leverages shipment data from 17 participating suppliers to analyze the public-sector contraceptive market in 83 low- and middle-income countries. The public sector is defined as those purchased by public…

Belgium: New tool informs of choices in emergency contraception

Belgium: New tool informs of choices in emergency contraception

April 2023. In Belgium, the Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial (FLCPF) recently launched a new website to inform individuals that need contraception after sex, of the choices available to them and guide them through. The website includes a short and anonymous on-line questionnaire that helps decide what are the optimal postcoital contraption methods…

Universal access to EC pills in Peru

Universal access to EC pills in Peru

March 2023. In Peru, on March 30 the Constitutional Court finally issued its ruling regarding the case of universal access to emergency contraception (EC) pills. The Court ordered the Ministry of Health to continue providing free-of-cost LNG EC pills nationwide, through the public health network. According to the Court press release, the magistrates considered that,…

New data on EC provision in 42 countries

New data on EC provision in 42 countries

March 2023. Since 2010, USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM), collects data on national contraceptive security policies. In collaboration with ECEC and ICEC, GHSC-PSM just published a brief that highlights trends and recent findings from survey data specific to emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), including:  The data shows that overall,…

Spain: Myths around use of emergency contraception

Spain: Myths around use of emergency contraception

March 2023. Sexual education is not mandatory in Spain, and the educational system does not guarantee the provision of adequate sexual education. As a consequence, the knowledge of contraceptive methods is riddled with myths and hoaxes, some of them very deep-rooted.  The Spanish Society of Contraception (Sociedad Española de Contracepción) works to dispel theses myths…

Luxembourg: Free contraception, including EC, for women of any age. 

March 2023. Luxembourg just announced a new policy regarding contraception: all short and long acting reversible contraceptives requiring a medical prescription and irreversible contraceptives will be fully covered without age-limits. Emergency contraception pills will be provided free of cost in any pharmacy, and a doctor’s prescription will not be required for gratuity. This new policy…

Argentina: New campaign to improve access to EC

Argentina: New campaign to improve access to EC

March 2023. In Argentina, a coalition of organizations just launched the campaign “AHE ACCESIBLE” to make emergency contraception pills (ECPs) easier and faster to access, and to strengthen knowledge on EC, especially among young people.  As part of these efforts, the campaign is collecting signatures to request the Minister of Health to remove barriers to…

Honduras finally frees emergency contraception pills

Honduras finally frees emergency contraception pills

March 2023. Honduras’ President Xiomara Castro announced on March 8 that emergency contraception pills will be allowed to be marketed and used in the country. According to Reuters, the President “signed an executive order ending a ban of more than 10 years on the use and sale of the “morning after pill,” fulfilling a campaign…