Poland, with a population of over 38 million, is the outlier in the 2020 Contraception Policy Atlas as the only country going backwards in terms of contraceptives access, from 47,8% to 35.1%. It ranks worst in Europe and necessitated the creation of a new dark red colour category.
It scored lowest for policies related to supplies and counselling with only 25%. The publicly funded healthcare system does not reimburse any kind of contraception. There are also no reimbursements for young or vulnerable population groups. It requires direct third-party consent for those seeking services with creates a further barrier to access services. Additionally, even emergency contraception requires prescription, which is rare in Europe.
It also scores poorly in terms of availability of information 56.6%. The country doesn’t have a government-supported website about contraceptive methods. Yet there is information on a wide-array of contraceptives from external providers. However, these lack information on their costs. Additionally, information is not available in minority languages, excluding a portion of the population. Poland accordingly has an modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 42%. There is also a high teenage birth rate with 11 births per 1000 adolescents and 2.59 abortions per 1000 live births.
Recommendations:
- Poland urgently needs to improve its policies regarding supplies and counselling, for which it has the lowest score throughout Europe. It urgently needs to focus on reimbursing contraceptives for all women of reproductive age, ensuring that vulnerable groups and adolescents are covered. To enable equal access and integrity, access should not be linked to third-party consent and emergency contraceptives must be made available without prescription.
- Poland should invest in a government supported integrated website with evidence-based information on contraceptives costs and where to get them. Despite few cultural and linguistic minorities in the country, it is important that the information is also made available in minority languages.
- Poland’s conservative and religious government and society needs to work on destigmatising and demystifying contraception. To achieve success, it is crucial to encourage better sexuality education from an early age, as well as improved training for health care providers.
Breakdown by Criteria
Policies related to supplies and counselling
- Reimbursement
✔️Reimbursement within the national health system
❌Special reimbursement for adolescents (until 19)
❌Special Reimbursement for vulnerable groups (unemployed/low income)
- Counselling
✔️Available, accessible, and affordable consultation
❌No need for third-party consent
✔️Legal status (marital, citizenship) is not a barrier
- Prescription requirements
❌Availability of emergency contraception without prescription
❌Availability of self-administered hormonal contraception without prescription
Availability of online information
- Type of online information
Website provided by non-goverment supported website
✔️Number of contraceptives - excellent
❌Info on costs of contraceptives
✔️Info on where to get contraceptives
- User friendliness
❌Regional or minority language included
✔️Web design
✔️Discoverability of the website
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