Successful online forum on emergency contraception

March 2011

An online forum hosted by the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception (for which FCI is host organization) drew active participants from more than three dozen countries and fostered a dynamic discussion of current issues around access to emergency contraception. Over a two-week period in the first half of March 2011, forum participants in 38 countries discussed such issues as:

• Legislative and judicial barriers to EC access, and strategies for addressing them
• Latest information on EC’s mechanism of action and on its effectiveness
  
• Safety and effectiveness of repeat use of levonorgestrel EC
  
• Alternative EC methods, including the Copper T IUD and the Yuzpe method (specific doses of regular oral contraceptives)
  

More than 1,100 people from 107 countries signed up to receive email updates on the forum, which was co-sponsored by WHO’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research and the Implementing Best Practices (IBP) in Reproductive Health Initiative. Throughout the online discussion, participants commented on various aspects of EC access in many different countries and settings, including post-rape care.

If you missed it, you can still sign up and visit the forum archives, where you’ll find all of the daily questions and digests, as well as folders containing resource documents on the discussion themes.