"Expanding knowledge and access
to emergency contraception"
"Expanding knowledge and access to emergency contraception in Europe"
September 2026. The World Health Organization (WHO) launches its new Guideline on Expanding Contraceptive Options (ECO), providing evidence-based recommendations on emerging contraceptive methods and service delivery practices. The guideline responds to requests from Member States and partners for guidance on contraceptive methods not yet included in the Medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use (MEC), as…
July 2026. ECEC has published the second edition of Repeated use of emergency contraceptive pills. Summary of current recommendations. The updated brief reflects the latest recommendations in the World Health Organization’s Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (6th edition, 2025), which classify repeated use of emergency contraceptive pills within the same menstrual cycle as Category…
July 2026. The College of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (CoSRH) has published a new evidence policy briefing summarising the current evidence on the safety and effectiveness of oral emergency contraception, including levonorgestrel (LNG) and ulipristal acetate (UPA) emergency contraceptive pills. The briefing reviews the available evidence on key topics, including EC use in women with…
July 2026. The Illinois Department of Public Health has issued a new standing order to improve access to reproductive health products through community pharmacies. The Standing Order for Reproductive Health: Contraception, Emergency Contraception and Pregnancy Tests, issued on 24 June 2026, is part of broader efforts to expand timely access to contraception by enabling pharmacists…
July 2026. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) containing levonorgestrel (LNG) and ulipristal acetate (UPA) are currently prescription products in Taiwan. Last June, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) proposed adding three prescription medicines—LNG and UPA ECPs, and also misoprostol—to its drug traceability system, with the stated aim of strengthening oversight of drug distribution and compliance….
July 2026. A new YouGov survey highlights persistent barriers to timely access to emergency contraception (EC) in the United Kingdom (UK), particularly outside regular pharmacy opening hours. Many respondents considered obtaining EC on a Sunday or after 10 p.m. to be difficult. Despite important progress in improving access to EC in the UK, the survey…
June 2026. In the United Kingdom, The College of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (CoSRH) – formerly FSRH-, has updated its Clinical Guideline on Emergency Contraception. One change in the latest amendments (April 2026) concerns breastfeeding after use of ulipristal acetate (UPA) emergency contraception. Following a review of the available evidence, the College now advises that…
June 2026. Poland’s Ministry of Health has announced plans to extend the pilot programme that allows pharmacists to issue prescriptions for emergency contraception (EC) pills directly in participating pharmacies. The programme, which began on 1 May 2024, was originally scheduled to run for 25 months, until June 2026. Following positive uptake, the Ministry has indicated…
June 2026. The Contraceptive Technology Innovation (CTI) Tracker is a free online resource that follows new contraceptive methods and technologies under development around the world. It includes products in the early stages of research, those undergoing clinical testing and products with single-country regulatory approval. The Tracker covers both ongoing and discontinued projects, providing a very…
May 2026. The next FIAPAC Conference will take place in Barcelona in October 2-3, 2026. FIAPAC is Europe’s leading forum bringing together healthcare professionals, researchers, and activists working in the fields of contraception and abortion. This year’s conference will explore the concept of “contragestion”: a potential fertility control intervention situated between contraception and abortion; a…
May 2026 (Updated August 2026). On the occasion of the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health launches its new Position Paper on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (Belgrade, 2026), reaffirming its commitment to defending sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as fundamental human rights,…
May 2026. The Hungarian women’s rights organisation PATENT Association is running a campaign calling for the reclassification of emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) to make them available without prescription in Hungary. The campaign, Magyarországon is legyen recept nélkül kapható az esemény utáni tabletta! (or “Make emergency contraception available over the counter in Hungary”), highlights the unnecessary…
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