Ukraine

OVERVIEW

In Ukraine, you can purchase birth control without a prescription. You can find phasic and combined pills, and many of the brands come from Germany, Hungary and the USA. You can also find other contraceptive options like injectables, implants and IUDs. Emergency contraception (the morning after pill) is available as well. While some sources states that you need a prescription to purchase EC, locals seem to indicate that a prescription is not typically required (we'll need to research this a bit more to confirm). You can get free STI tests if you donate blood. Otherwise, you may need to pay a bit more money to have tests done at a local hospital or clinic. PEP is reportedly available in Ukraine, but there is no known national PrEP program yet. There is no nationwide HPV vaccination program. In Ukraine, maternity leave is provided (18 weeks of maternity leave with 100% of wages covered), though there appears to be no paternity leave policy. Abortion is legal under all circumstances for the first 12 weeks, and it is still available for certain circumstances up to 28 weeks.

Contraception

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Ukraine, contraception (birth control) is available without a prescription. According to a 2015 report, 66.5% of women (who are of reproductive age and married or in unions) use some form of contraception and 10.2% have unmet family planning needs. The most common forms are contraception are condoms (26.1%), IUDs (15%), withdrawal or the "pull out method" (12.5%), birth control pills (6.9%) and the rhythm method (2.6%).

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Ukraine, you can purchase birth control pills at pharmacies, including phasic pills and combined pills. Many of the pills come from Germany, Hungary and the USA. Some brands you can expect to see are Anteovin, Diane, Diane-35, Femoden, Jeanine, Logest, Marvelon, Mercilon, Microgynon, Microgynon-30 and Minisiston.
• You can find contraceptive shots/injectables, including Depo-Provera SAS 150mg/ml and Noristerat.
• You can find contraceptive implants, including Implanon.
• You can find IUDs, including Mirena. You can get IUD insertion at American Medical Center for $309.25 USD (after a consultation), however AMC is known to be expensive and we're sure there are cheaper options available in Kiev.

Emergency Contraception

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Ukraine, you technically need a prescription to obtain emergency contraception (the morning after pill). However, locals have stated that you can buy emergency contraception over-the-counter (without a prescription). In Ukraine, the lowest cadre of health workers who is allowed to sell/dispense EC is doctors (we're not sure if this is enforced).

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Ukraine, you can find dedicated emergency contraception (the morning after pill) at pharmacies or public sector clinics. For anti-progestin EC, you can find Dvella or Gynepriston (you take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex). For progestin-only EC, you can find Escapelle or Escapelle 1.5 (for these pills, you take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex). You can also find Postinor (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex).
• If you can't access dedicated emergency contraception, you can use regular birth control pills as replacement EC. Just remember that, in 28-day packs, only the first 21 pills can be used. To do this, you can take Ovidon (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 2 more pills 12 hours later). You can also take Microgynon, Microgynon-30, Minisiston, Rigevidon or Ovidon (for these, you take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later).
• For more information, visit the Princeton EC website.

Costs

For LNG pills (Escapelle and Postinor), you can expect to pay around € 10,20. For UPA pills (Dvella), you can expect to pay around € 13.74. For Mifepristone pills (Gynepriston), you can expect to pay around € 6.14. In Ukraine, EC costs are not reimbursed by social security.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Ukraine, there are no travel restrictions related to HIV status. In the past, there was a Law on Prevention of AIDS and Social Protection of Population, but this law has been removed. Before its removal, from 2001-2015, HIV positive people were not allowed to visit Ukraine and HIV-positive Ukrainians were not allowed to travel outside of Ukraine.

Currently, Ukraine is experiencing and HIV/AIDS epidemic, and it has one of the highest HIV infection rates in Europe. It's estimated by UNAIDS that 223,000 people are infected with HIV but only one half of infected people are aware of their status. For many years, Ukraine was considered a "low-risk" country for HIV, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease was only first reported in Ukraine in 1987 and, by 1995, there were still only a few cases. However, this began to change. From 1995-2007, the majority of HIV infections came from injection drug use. However, since 2007, heterosexual sex has been the primary means of transmission. There has also been a significantly increased infection rate among prison inmates and children (who transmitted the disease from their mother) in the past two decades. Some of the biggest challenges in controlling the infection rate include: lack of services for injection-drug users, limited access to affordable condoms, limited access to affordable HIV tests, and the stigma around men who have sex with men (MSM).

Regarding HPV, it's estimated that 9.7% of women in Eastern Europe are infected with HPV HPV-16/18. However, there is no nationwide HPV vaccination program in place in Ukraine, as of 2016.

Testing Facilities

• You can make a free HIV test in the test points of the AHF organization. See a map of test points on the website[1].
• You may be able to get a free HIV test if you donate blood. In the past, this was the case in Ukraine, and it may still be the case.
• For local recommendations of test centers, visit the city pages, like the Kiev page.

Support

• International AIDS Alliance in Ukraine
• AIDS Healthcare Foundation - Ukraine: Address: AHF Ukraine, Ukraine, 03055, Kyiv 5, Shulyavska Str., Office 10
• All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV (Мережа ЛЖВ): Email: info@network.org.ua
• Alliance for Public Health: "The Alliance for Public Health has successfully developed and implemented HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and hepatitis responses in Ukraine." They've helped people get Hepatitis C treatment. Address: Alliance for Public Health, 5 Dymytrova Street, Building 10A, 9th floor, Kiev, 03680. Tel +380 44 490 5485. Email office@aidsalliance.org.ua
• Teenergizer: Online group and creative platform in Ukraine for teens and young people. Focused on social justice and HIV.

Medications & Vaccines

What to Get & Where to Get It

• If you have a yeast infection, you can ask the pharmacist for Fluconazole.
• If you have a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection), you can write/say ІСШ ("UTI") or Інфекція Сечовивідних Шляхів ("Urinary Tract Infection").
• There is no nationwide HPV vaccination program in Ukraine. While we you can probably get the HPV vaccine at hospitals or clinics, we don't have any data on this yet.
• Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) is available in Ukraine. We don't know where exactly, but hospital emergency rooms may be a place to ask.
• We can't find evidence of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) being generally available in Ukraine. However, according to one report, the country is "exploring PrEP initiatives."

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can buy menstrual cups from LadyDream, which is a Ukrainian company that sells Lunette (for 890 UAH), LadyCup (590 UAH), Yuuki (490 UAH), Si-Bell (590 UAH). A cheaper variant is "Green Donna" - 220 UAH (you can buy it on the website menstrualcup.com.ua).

Gynecological Exams

What to Get & Where to Get It

For local recommendations, visit the city pages, like the Kiev page.

Pregnancy

In Ukraine, women receive 18 weeks of maternity leave with 100% of wages covered. There appears to be no paternity leave policy.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• Isida: This is a very well-known clinic and locals seem to be divided on its quality. For some locals, it's highly recommended. For others, they have had some issues or find it too expensive. One local said that her consultation was 390 hryvna.
• One local recommends: "IGR clinic or Leleka or Nadia Clinic, same owner: Pr Valeri Zuki."

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Ukraine, abortion is legal upon request during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Between twelve to twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy, abortion is also legal on many grounds, including medical and social reasons. If a commission of physicians approve of an abortion (up to 28 weeks), any reason that they deem acceptable is also accepted.

The history of abortion in Ukraine is similar to many other former Soviet nations. From 1922-1991, Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union (the country was then known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic), and it followed general Soviet abortion law. While the Soviet Decree of 27 June 1936 generally prohibited abortions (except for special circumstances), the prohibition of abortion was repealed in the Decree of 23 November 1955. While the repeal in 1955 eased restrictions, there were still certain requirements, and the illegal abortion economy continued in Ukraine. For this reason, abortion laws were further eased in 1987. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine generally maintained its existing abortion policy.

Advocacy & Counseling

What to Get & Where to Get It

• La Strada: This is a Ukrainian NGO that advocates against domestic violence, human trafficking and gender discrimination. They have helped survivors of sexual violence by providing medical, legal, psychological and social help. Located in Kiev. Telephone: + 38 044 205 3695. Email: info@la-strada.org.ua.

List of Additional Resources

• Gay Alliance Ukraine: "UPO “Gay Alliance Ukraine” – is a strong and stable organization that is a partner of the state and international donors, and is being a leader of LGBT-movement in Ukraine and at the regional level of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA)." Email: gau.infoservis@gmail.com or info@upogau.org. Phone: +38 (044) 38 38 266
• National LGBT Portal of Ukraine: "The international project «National LGBT portal of Ukraine» — the only of its kind in the marketplace, where each / every lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people will find the information needed for everyday life and be able to share their thoughts and experiences."
• Fulcrum:"FULCRUM is working to create opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to be righteous citizens accepted at home, at work, in society, and to have a healthy and happy life, equal rights and obligations."