"Expanding knowledge and access
to emergency contraception"
"Expanding knowledge and access to emergency contraception in Europe"
June 2023. Health authorities in Japan announced the piloting of a new modality to dispense emergency contraception (EC) pills through pharmacies. Until now a prescription from a gynecologist was required to buy an EC pill. Only LNG EC pills are available in Japan. The pill and the consultation with the doctor (which is mandatory) cost…
May 2023. The Argentinian Minister of Health announced the switch of 1.5 mg levonorgestrel (LNG) emergency contraception pill (ECPs) products, to unrestricted sale products (producto de venta libre). A prescription will no longer be required to buy LNG ECPs. LNG ECPs are marketed in Argentina for over 10 years. UPA ECPs are registered but not yet…
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…
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…
April 2023. In Belgium a new reimbursement scheme was put in place in April 2020, that made EC pills available free of charge to women of any age. Before that, EC pills were reimbursed when sold with a prescription to patients under 21. See Belgium for more details. Three years into the implementation of this…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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