La Paz

Bolivia / La Paz

OVERVIEW

Contraception (Birth Control)

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 Bolivia, contraception (birth control) is available without a prescription. It is estimated that about 62% of Bolivian women (who are married or in unions between the ages of 15 and 49) use some form of contraception and that 40% use a modern contraceptive method. Furthermore, it's estimated that 18% have unmet family planning needs. The most popular methods of contraception are the rhythm method (17.1%), injectables (13.6%), IUDs (10.1%), female sterilization (7.8%) and male condom (4.8%). Other methods include the pill and withdrawal, but they were used by only 4% of women on average.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can purchase birth control pills ("píldoras anticonceptivas") in Bolivia without a prescription. Some brands you can expect to see are Microgynon, Microgynon-30, Minigynon, Nordette and Norvetal. For birth control pill information from Marie Stopes Bolivia, click here.
• You can find male ("condón masculino") and female condoms ("condón femenino") in Bolivia. Click [1] here for information on male condoms (in Spanish) and click here for information on female condoms (in Spanish) from Marie Stopes Bolivia.
• If you want an IUD ("El DIU"), you can get it at Marie Stopes. They have both the hormonal IUD or the copper IUD.
• If you want the contraceptive implant ("implante"), you can get the FEMPLANT at Marie Stopes.
• If you want a contraceptive injectable ("inyectables"), you can get monthly or quarterly injectables at Marie Stopes.

Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill)

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 Bolivia, emergency contraception (the morning after pill) is only available by prescription. There are no age restrictions for purchasing EC. According to Bolivian law, health care providers and pharmacists can refuse to sell EC to you for moral or religious reasons. However, if one health care provider does not sell you EC, you should not give up; there are other providers that will sell it to you without issue. Note that there are many dedicated EC brands available in Bolivia, indicating that you indeed can find EC.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can purchase dedicated emergency contraception in Bolivia at public sector clinics, private clinics and pharmacies. For anti-progestin brands, you can find UPRIS (take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex). For progestin only brands, you can find Glanique 1, Impreviat and Postinor 1 (take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex). Other progestin only brands you can find are Glanique, Imediat N, Pilem, Postinor-2, Pregnon and Tace (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex).
• You can have an IUD inserted to prevent pregnancy. Please refer to the "Contraception" section for details.
• If you can't access dedicated emergency contraception, you can use regular oral contraceptives (birth control pills) as emergency contraception. For combined pills (progestin-estrogen), you'll need to remember that, in 28-day packs, only the first 21 pills can be used. You can take Microgynon CD (take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later). You can take Microgynon, Microgynon-30, Minigynon, Nordette or Norvetal (for all of these brands, take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later).

For more details, visit the Princeton EC website.

Costs

LNG Products: $8.00 (55.50 Bolivianos), as of June 2014. UPA Products: $15.00 (102 Bolivianos), as of June 2014.

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

To say STD in Spanish, say "enfermedades de transmisión sexual."

There are no travel or residency restrictions tied to HIV status. This means that you can enter the country without a medical certificate, and you will not be required to take an HIV test to live or work in Bolivia. You can also import antiretroviral drugs. In Bolivia, it is estimated that 0.3% of the population is HIV positive, according to data from 2015. You can read an account of some of the challenges of living with HIV in Bolivia here.

Regarding HPV, according to the HPV Information Centre, "Current estimates indicate that every year 2029 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 845 die from the disease. Cervical cancer ranks as the 1st most frequent cancer among women in Bolivia and the 1st most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age. Data is not yet available on the HPV burden in the general population of Bolivia. However, in South America, the region Bolivia belongs to, about 12.1% of women in the general population are estimated to harbour cervical HPV-16/18 infection at a given time, and 62.7% of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPVs 16 or 18."

Testing Facilities

• Clinica Del Sur: They have staff who speak Spanish, English, Dutch and Portuguese. They have a laboratory. Emergencies: 2784001- 2784002. Patient: 2784750 - 2784755. lnternational: (591-2) 278400. Fax: (591-2) - 2,784,753.
• Clinica Pro Salud: Has a laboratory and should be able to give tests.

Support

• UNAIDS Bolivia:

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 urinary tract infection (UTI), you can say "infecciones de las vías urinarias."
• You can find the HPV vaccine in Bolivia. There is also a nationwide HPV vaccination pilot program in place.
• There is currently no PrEP program in place in Bolivia, as of January 2017.

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

In Bolivia, you can easily find pads. You'll find some tampons in certain supermarkets (especially in more urban areas, like La Paz), but they will typically be non-applicator tampons (like OB) and you won't find much variety. As for menstrual cups, there appears to be no official sellers of major brands, like DivaCup, LadyCup or Lunette, so you should try to buy them online or find a small-scale boutique seller.

Gynecological Exams

What to Get & Where to Get It

• Alemena Clinic (German Hospital): This is potentially the best hospital in La Paz, and it's recommended by many locals. They have a general gynecology department, which includes: Management of endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, metrorrhagia, endocrine disorders of women, pathology of the cervix, and breasts. Address: Av.6 de Agosto 2821, La Paz, Bolivia. Phone: +591 2 2432155.

Pregnancy

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.

Advocacy & Counseling

List of Additional Resources

• Centro de Desarrollo Integral de la Mujer Aymara Aymata "Amuyt’a" (CDIMA): "CDIMA is a leading indigenous women’s rights organisation in Bolivia, founded in 1989 to promote Aymara women’s rights, cultural identity and women’s access to social, political and economic rights."
• Centro de Promocion de Mujer Gregoria Apaza (CPMGA): "CPMGA has established successful leadership and violence prevention courses in Bolivia and runs an influential radio station which broadcasts powerful social messages. The organisation's vision is of a society where women and men can exercise their democratic and human rights without discrimination."
• Womankind - Bolivia: "Our partners - local or national women’s rights organisations - provide direct support for women and girls, from a safe place to escape violence or information about their rights to leadership training or funding to start their own business. They also work to change laws and policies which discriminate against women and girls, and challenge the damaging attitudes and stereotypes at the root of inequality."