News

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. 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…

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…

March 2023. In 2021, in a first-of-its-kind study by University of Utah Health found that hormonal IUDs could be a safe and viable emergency contraception alternative, and that they could be comparable to copper IUDs for use as emergency contraceptives. See News. While more research is conducted, a recent Cochrane Review by Oregon Health and…

February 2023. In Peru, the long-awaited hearing of the emergency contraception case took place in the Constitutional Court on February 28, 2023. The court discussed if the provision of emergency contraception pills (ECPs) through the public health network, is in accordance with Constitutional law. In Peru, ECPs are allowed for sale in pharmacies (paid out…

February 2023. In 2009, emergency contraception pills (ECPs) were reclassified to pharmacy products in Spain and prescription requirements were removed. This was a first measure to equalize access in all country’s territory.  Last week, a new step was taken in this direction: according to the text of the Reform of the law on Sexual and…