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February 2022. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights strongly urges Maltese authorities to improve the availability of sexual and reproductive health services. In her report, published on February 15, Commissioner Dunja Mijatović notes that numerous pharmacies refuse to dispense EC on grounds of conscience, and that there are no measures in place to…

February 2022. On February 9th, the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights (EPF) launched the fifth edition of the European Contraception Policies Atlas. Members of the European Parliament Sophie in ‘t Veld and Fred Matic, chaired the event. The Contraception Atlas scores 46 countries on access to online information about modern contraception, and…

February 2022. In the United Kingdom, a big pharmacy retailer announced that  LNG EC pills will be sold at £10 (around 12€). This is similar to the price it offered as part of last years’ Black Friday discounts. Visit bpas Twitter to learn more about their long-term campaign to make EC pills, an essential reproductive…

January 2022. Doctors for Choice in Malta launched an online service that provides a doctor’s prescription for EC pills and also helps women chose her preferred oral EC method (LNG or UPA). EC pills are registered as over the counter medicines in Malta, but this online service will make access to EC easier for many,…

January 2022. In Ireland, the wider use of emergency contraception (EC) is deemed to be one of the many contributing factors to a 73 % fall in the number of births to teenage mothers over the past 20 years, according to the report “Information Summary about Teenage Pregnancy in Ireland 2000-2020” to be published by…

January 2022. A report published on newtral.es on December 2021 shows the challenges of working in “conscious objector pharmacies”. In these pharmacies the individual right to object dispensing EC pills on conscientious grounds, is extended to the entire team in the shop, despite being an individual right:  https://www.newtral.es/farmacias-objetoras-de-conciencia-pildora-del-dia-despues/20211219/. Testimonies of individuals who, in Spanish pharmacies,…

January 2022. Last December, Welsh Health authorities announced changes on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. These will enable all pharmacies to provide emergency contraception (EC) and some forms of routine contraception. Other priority services that will be included are the common ailment, emergency medicine supply and seasonal influenza vaccination services. The 713 community pharmacies registered…

December 2021. Data on emergency contraception’ knowledge and use are included in Unicef’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) for some countries. National survey reports are available on-line. Serbia and North Macedonia identified important EC knowledge gaps between overall population and population in Roma settlements. Serbia:1  % of all women aged 15-49 who have heard of EC: 91,4% % of…

December 2021. Last week, a big retail pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom announced a 50% discount on emergency contraception pills during Black Friday. The promotion has raised strong criticism from a number of organisations and Members of Parliament, who point out that essential women’s health products should not be used to make a profit. MPs and…

November 2021. Individuals ages 13 to 55 will be able to access a temporary 3-month supply of oral contraception (a progestogen-only contraceptive pill) from community pharmacies, at the time of obtaining emergency contraception (EC). The Scottish government just announced this innovative measure, aimed at bridging the gap between EC and use of longer-term contraception. Until…

November 2021. In a valuable monitoring effort, a journalist from MaltaToday conducted again and for the 2nd year in a row, a survey to assess EC accessibility. Through a phone interview, pharmacies that will be on-call in the coming 6 weekends and holidays were asked if they sell emergency contraception (EC) pills, or not. According…