Every Hour Matters campaign resources for post-rape care

Together for Girls, along with partners PAHO, WHO, UN Women, Women Deliver, Save the Children USA, Care International, Child Helpline International, Jhpiego, SafeTrek, BD, and Cummins & Partners developed new Every Hour Matters campaign resources. The Every Hour Matters campaign aims to increase awareness about the critical importance of quickly accessing post-rape care. The resources are available…

Awareness and knowledge regarding EC in Berlin adolescents

A study published in The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care assessed awareness and knowledge of EC among adolescents in Berlin, Germany. The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey among ninth graders in a convenience sample of 13 Berlin schools in which they assessed perceived and actual knowledge on the effectiveness, timeframe, and availability of…

Contraception atlas for Europe released

In February 2017, the European Parliamentary Forum on Population & Development launched the ContraceptionAtlas, a map scoring 45 European countries on access to modern contraception. Included among the examined factors are number of contraceptives available, what sort of information is available online, level of reimbursement, and availability of emergency contraception. According to the atlas, France is number…

New EC tools from Switzerland

In March 2016, pharmaSuisse and IENK (groupe interdisciplinaire d’experts/es en contraception d’urgence) published tools to facilitate EC counseling and provision among health care professionals, such as pharmacists and family planning staff. These tools, including a flow-chart (seen at right), are available in French, German, and Italian and can be accessed through the box on the…

Abortion rate drops in Italy

According to a report published by the Italian Ministry of Health (available in English), the abortion rate in Italy dropped by 9,3% in 2015. In April 2015, the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) eliminated the mandatory prescription requirement for UPA EC pills for women older than 18, and in October 2015, AIFA eliminated the mandatory prescription requirement for LNG EC pills as well. This…

Launch of bpas campaign for affordable, accessible EC

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas) recently launched a campaign in the UK calling for LNG EC to be made available directly on pharmacy shelves at an affordable price. Currently in the UK, women can only obtain EC from behind the pharmacy counter after a consultation with a pharmacist, and LNG EC costs up to £30,…

Medicines Authority recommends OTC sale of EC in Malta

On October 17th, 2016, the head of the Malta Medicines Authority, Serracino Inglott, announced that the sale of EC pills will be allowed without a prescription. According to an article from Times of Malta: “The authority has always based its decisions on three things; quality, safety of patients and efficacy. By asking patients to go to doctors…

Malta Medical Journal editorial on emergency contraception

(October 5, 2016)  The fall issue of the Journal of the University of Malta Medical School (Vol.28 Issue 3, 2016) focuses its editorial on emergency contraception. The article states that the most recent scientific evidence shows that LNG ECP delays ovulation and does not prevent implantation nor does ECP cause the loss of implanted embryos, and…