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Legal
Challenges to EC in Ecuador |
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May 2006 |
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In Ecuador, women's access to
EC was, until recently, assured. The Ecuadorian
Political Constitution (1998) includes sexual
and reproductive rights; EC is listed as a
family planning method in the Ministry of
Public Health's Reproductive Health program;
and as of 2002, EC was included in the protocol
of assistance to victims of sexual violence.
However, in 2005 a claim was presented by
an individual before the Ecuadorian Constitutional
Court requesting the suspension of distribution
of Postinor-2- Levonorgestrel 0.75, with the
argument that EC challenged Ecuador's constitution.
The Ministry of Health did not respond to
the challenge or participate in this case.
Scientific arguments and evidence presented
in collaboration with women's and civil rights
groups were ignored, as was a supportive letter
from CLAE
(the Latin America Consortium for Emergency
Contraception) and support from FLASOG (the
Latin American Federation of Obstetric and
Gynecological Societies). Instead, in May
2006, the Constitutional Court opted to accept
the arguments of the individual plaintiff,
which resulted in suspension of the registration
of Postinor-2 for the Ecuadorian market. Now,
certain anti-contraception groups are requesting
the extension of the recent resolution of
the Constitutional Court to all contraceptives
made available by the Ministry of Health;
other methods containing levonorgestrel may
be particularly at risk. |
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East
African journalist-to-journalist seminar on
reproductive health and EC |
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June 2006 |
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When EC receives attention in
the African media, it is frequently sensationalized
and informed by anecdotal evidence, unsubstantiated
claims, and conservative ideologies. In Kenya,
for example, one national newspaper reported
that young girls were eating EC "like chocolate."
To better inform this debate, ECafrique
undertook a rapid diagnostic of EC use among
Nairobi women, aged 14-25. Results of the
surveys determined that repeat use of EC is
not widespread, and there is not an epidemic
of EC abuse among adolescents as reported.
(View the case study and PowerPoint presentation
on the ICEC Website here).
To promote more consistent and objective reporting
on EC, ECafrique, in conjunction with the
US-based National Press Foundation (NPF) and
the Population Reference Bureau, convened
a skill-building workshop in Nairobi, Kenya
from June 15-18, 2006. As part of the NPF's
Journalist-to-Journalist program, this seminar
focused on increasing journalists' overall
awareness of reproductive health issues (including
EC) while at the same time improving their
ability to effectively convey this information
to the public. Twenty-two leading health reporters
from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and
Malawi were selected for the 4-day training,
which immediately preceded the 2nd Africa
Conference on Sexual Health and Rights. At
the conference, participants were able to
test their newly-acquired skills under the
guidance of top guest editors, filing reports
for their home publications and contributing
to the conference newsletter. A similar activity
for francophone journalists in West Africa
is currently being planned. |
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PATH
releases updated client brochure |
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Spring 2006 |
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PATH announces the online availability
of its updated client brochure "It's Not Too
Late to Prevent Pregnancy." The brochure is
provided in 14 languages (Amharic, Arabic,
Cambodian, Chinese, English, French, Haitian-Creole,
Korean, Laotian, Portuguese, Russian, Somali,
Spanish, Vietnamese), each with culturally
appropriate illustrations. The updated information
includes the extended effectiveness timeframe
(up to 5 days/120 hours) and the effectiveness
of a single dose (one 1.5 mg instead of 2
doses of 0.75 mg each) of the levonorgestrel-only
regimen. The brochures can be downloaded on
this site as 8.5 x 11 PDFs- for the A4
size brochures, visit PATH's
EC Publications site. |
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IPPF/WHR
update: EC and advocacy in the Caribbean |
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July 2006 |
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International
Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere
Region (IPPF/WHR) is currently working
on a regional advocacy campaign to increase
access to emergency contraception in the Caribbean.
Member Associations in Barbados, St. Lucia
and Trinidad and Tobago are working with IPPF/WHR
to create comprehensive advocacy campaigns
for national political change in relation
to the provision of Emergency Contraception.
The IPPF/WHR team conducted a political mapping
exercise in each country, identifying all
of the key political players and stakeholders
to ensure that the most strategic advocacy
efforts are made within each country context.
Each country has an individual campaign that
they will implement to improve access to EC.
Some of the hoped-for results include having
the Ministry of Health place EC on the national
drug formulary so that all government centres
offer EC by the end of the project and ensuring
that EC is a part of the national rape victim
treatment protocol. |
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Consortium
member FHI publishes new report on EC and
adolescents |
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February 2006 |
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Family Health International has published
a new working paper titled Adolescents
and Emergency Contraceptive Pills in Developing
Countries, available here
to download. |
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EC
launched in Indonesia by Consortium member
DKT International |
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December 2005 |
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DKT International launched Gideon
Richter's Postinor 2 in December 2005 and
will be making this available through their
national distribution network. DKT will include
EC in future training and outreach to midwives,
pharmacists, and doctors (more than 5,000
midwives have been trained in the last 2-3
years) and will develop educational materials
in Bahasa, Indonesia. There are an estimated
2 million abortions each year in Indonesia;
DKT International hopes the availability of
EC can help reduce these numbers. |
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ECafrique
reports EC now available in five regions of
Ethiopia |
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Winter 2005 |
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The Ministry of Health, Ethiopian
Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
(ESOG), ECafrique (the African Consortium
for EC), and the Concept Foundation continue
to work towards mainstreaming EC services
into the public and non-governmental sectors.
Doctors and nurses have been trained and service
provision is underway in the country's five
main regions: Addis Ababa, Amhara, Tigray,
Oromia, and SNNPR.
This project supports incorporating EC
into the pre-training curriculum of nursing,
medical and community health students at
each of the country's leading medical schools.
Small stipends are being offered to support
student research on EC. ECafrique
has also developed a CD-ROM of EC-related
resources for students who wish to learn
more about the method, but whose access
to the Internet is limited. The CD-ROM covers
EC technology, service delivery guidelines,
training materials, and other topics. To
compliment the focus on students and their
research, the project is also sponsoring
guest lectures and other initiatives to
exchange information on EC.
Finally, efforts are underway to secure
the registration of Postinor-2
with the Ethiopian Drug Administration and
Control Authority. The local pharmaceutical
firm, Beker Pharmaceuticals & Medical
Supplies, submitted their application for
registration of the product, thereby opening
up the door for future importation of Postinor
2, once current stocks are exhausted.
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