Tag Archives: emergency contraceptives

It’s All About The Exchange Rate: ‘The Morning After Pill’ In Luanda, Angola

Today, we’re visiting pharmacies in Luanda, the world’s most expensive city, as a part of our year-long series going all around the world where lovely ladies of color live too see what brands of emergency contraceptives (EC) are available.

As in most locations SuzyKnew! has visited, pharmacies in Luanda are generally offering two brands of levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptives: a brand name and a generic. In Luanda pharmacies, the most seen EC is Norlevo. It’s generally priced around 5,000 kwanzas which is anywhere between $12 – $50 depending on whether you’re using the unofficial (i. e., black market) rate or official rate. This is a big difference, and this is the highest price we’ve seen in Africa for manufacturer’s HRA Pharma’s Norlevo. But, Luanda isn’t called the world’s most expensive city for nothing! (And, don’t forget in Zurich Norlevo was $55!)

We are also finding generics such as an Indian-manufactured EC called I-72 for lower prices – around 1000 Kwanzas. This is anywhere between $2 and $10 depending on your exchange rate.  And, this price is similar to what we’ve been finding in other African countries. But, it’s all about quality, too, which is important to keep in mind when you’re trying to not get pregnant.

While there were more brands and types of emergency contraceptives available in Luanda last year ago before oil prices fell and the economy fell with it in this oil-dependent country. Pharmacies in urban areas routinely carried several brands and types of EC including ella.

So, if you’re Angolan living here earning kwanzas EC, is more expensive and if you’re paid in foreign currency or visiting, it’s all about the exchange rate! But, nonetheless, today in Luanda, Angola, we lovely ladies of color continue to have a choice in emergency contraceptive brands.

Looking forward to seeing you at our next pharmacy!

Photo courtesy on MS-Moniz Silva, one of Angola’s largest pharmacy chains.

Finding Emergency Contraceptives In Benin, West Africa

Today SuzyKnew! is in Benin, West Africa to see what brands of emergency contraceptives are available as a part of our year-long series of videos taken around the world in places where lovely ladies of color live.  In the urban pharmacies in Cotonou “the Morning After Pill” is easy to find. A downtown pharmacy had more brands than pharmacies SuzyKnew! visited in Europe and the U.S.

A pharmacy in the St. Michel neighborhood in Cotonou, the capital had a choice of Norlevo ($6) , Ella-One ($8) and generic Norlevo ($3 -4).

Join us at our next pharmacy where lovely ladies of color live.

Looking For “The Morning After Pill” In Haiti

Bonjour, Ladies!

Today, we’re in Haiti. We’re continuing our year-long video series on looking for “The Morning After Pill” or emergency contraceptives all around the world where “Lovely Ladies of Color” live to see what we can find.

Today’s pharmacy is located in Port-au-Prince – the capital city.  The ladies here have several choices – but they all seem to be generic pills coming from neighboring country Dominican Republic. All the packaging and inserts are in Spanish. I didn’t see anything in French. So, if you need to read the instructions on the package insert and you don’t speak Spanish, you’re out of luck

Our first attempt was at a modest pharmacy.

We visited a second and third pharmacy. The third pharmacy was Giant pharmacy located at an upscale supermarket. Giant had the brand Postday manufactured by Gedeon Richter. Gedeo Richter emergency contraceptives were found in Lagos, Nigeria and in the U.S. as well.  Also, the manufacturer seems to have the most affordable emergency contraceptives – at least where lovely ladies of color live.

Note: Our EC video studies aren’t exactly scientific!

Photo courtesy of Lakaywear.com

Walmart Doesn’t Want To Talk About The Morning After Pill Available In One Of Its South Carolina Stories

This time SuzyKnew! went south to the Carolina lowcountry looking for emergency contraceptives (EC) . While we would have loved to have visited with our sisters on Gullah Island we were based closer to the mainland on Hilton Head Island and went to the Walmart.

We found two brands of the Morning After Pill in the South Carolina Walmart, Plan B One Step at $46.87 and Gedeon Richter’s generic version Take Action for $34.78. Like the other U.S. pharmacy we visited in Hyattsville, MD (Rite Aid), Walmart had only one of the brands available.  Take Action was on the shelf while the branded EC was stocked out.  And, no Ella, which works better for us curvy (read heavier) ladies of color, but requires a prescription in the U.S. so you can’t see it out in the open. Also like Rite Aid, Walmart did not want to be a part of this video and essentially ran away when the taping started.  Pharmacists and pharmacy workers haven’t been so camera shy in non-U.S. places. In Paris, Lagos, Strasbourg, Zurich and Johannesburg, the pharmacists were curious and didn’t mind being a part of the video.  When I asked questions some saw me taping and actually spoke up so their voices would be captured on tape.

So, don’t get any ideas that pharmacy workers in the U.S. are more comfortable talking about emergency contraceptives than workers in other countries. SuzyKnew!’s experience says that’s just not so…

But, like Rite Aid, Walmart did say they would answer any questions we had.  But, I have to jump in and say I saw teen couples struggling to find emergency contraceptives when I was at Rite Aid and too embarrassed to ask (you know SuzyKnew! helped them out!) where as in overseas pharmacies, you just step right up to the counter – including Johannesburg, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (coming soon) and Cotonou, Benin (coming soon) and the pharmacy people tell you like it is.  Not a lot of privacy though, I have to say…

But, South Carolina’s prices were cheaper – at least at Walmart – than they were in Maryland. That could be a function of the pharmacy chain or the south vs. the north.

SuzyKnew!’s next locale: Haiti!

Photo courtesy of queenquet.com

Emergency Contraceptives In Afrikaans Language In Johannesburg, South Africa

SuzyKnew! continues to go all around the world where lovely ladies of color live to find which brands of emergency contraceptives are available.  This time we’re at the pharmacy at Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa called Link, which has over 200 stores in southern Africa. Only one brand of emergency contraceptives is available – Norlevo.  And, it’s packaging is in Afrikaans language. So, if you need to read how to take the product and don’t speak Afrikaans, you’re out of luck.  Not a lot of Sista’s speak Afrikaans.  Mainly Afrikaaners speak Afrikaans. So, was this product brought into South Africa with us in mind? Or not? Not sure.

The price for Norlevo of 82 Rand or $6 or $7 dollars in Johannesburg is similar to the price we found in Paris and Strasbourg, France.  We didn’t ask how to use the product but the pharmacist was very easy-going and helpful.

Thanks for following this video series on emergency contraceptives. We look forward to seeing you at the next pharmacy!

 

 

Below is my first attempt at the video talking to the pharmacist. Kinda clumsy!

For SuzyKnew!’s visits to pharmacies in Hyattsville, MD, Paris, France, Lagos, Nigeria, Strasbourg, France, Zurich, Switzerland click on the links.

Emergency Contraceptives In Strasbourg, France?

SuzyKnew! continues to go all around the world where lovely ladies of color live to see what type of emergency contraceptives – or the “The Morning After Pill” – we find.  This time we’re in the north of France in Strasbourg. Strasbourg has a sizable Black and Muslim population but because France does not systematically collect data on race, it’s difficult to know exactly how many lovely ladies of color there are. Polls suggest around 3% of the French population is Black.

This is our 5th pharmacy and we’re at the pharmacy located right outside Strasbourg’s main train station. We found two types of emergency contraceptives: Norlevo at 7.34 (around $8.40) Euro which has to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex and ellaOne at over 19 Euro (around $22.67)which can be taken within 5 days of unprotected sex. But, of course the earlier you take it the better. EllaOne is also more effective for us ladies with a few extra curves.

So far, emergency contraceptives are a lot more affordable in France and Nigeria than in the U.S. But, in Nigeria, while it was clear that Postinor II was a known, quality product, the others were suspect – like you can’t find them when you google…. Hmm…

Thank you for following SuzyKnew! and we hope to see you at our next pharmacy!

 

Photo courtesy of France 24