Ecuador

OVERVIEW

In Ecuador, there are many clinics and health care options available. You can find contraception in most pharmacies and, if you visit a public hospital, you can obtain emergency contraception with no prescription or fees. While you may be able to receive STD/STI tests at many hospitals, it's hard to find good information online about such facilities. Abortion is generally illegal, aside from certain exceptions, though the abortion pill may be attainable.

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

Birth control pills are readily available at pharmacies without a prescription. You will typically find generic pills, like Microgynon, or brand name pills, like Yaz or Yasmin.

According to a 2015 report, it was estimated that about 73% of Ecuadorian women (who were married/in unions and between ages 15 and 49) used any form of contraception, and about 9% of Ecuadorian women had unmet family planning needs. The most common forms of contraception among Ecuadorian women was female sterilization (about 25%), birth control pills (about 14%), and IUDs (about 11%). Some women also used contraceptive injectables (about 6%) and male condoms (about 5%). Traditional methods, such as the rhythm method (about 6%) and withdrawal (about 5%) were also used by some women. There were no recorded users of contraceptive implants (0.0%).

In the past, the conservative government of President Correa (who served from 2007-17) had threatened many of the protections granted to women's health care. As reported by PRI, "...many of his critics argue that his policies toward women are among the most conservative in Latin America. Women’s groups in Ecuador say they’ve been losing a series of hard-won rights since Correa first came into office in 2007." For example, Correa's government reorganized a government agency responsible for reducing teen pregnancy (Estrategia Nacional Intersectorial de Planificación Familiar y Prevención del Embarazo en Adolescente), and he appointed an anti-abortion, pro-abstinence activist to manage it.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• In Ecuador, you can purchase birth control pills ("píldoras anticonceptivas” in Spanish) over-the-counter. No prescription is required. There are over 20 birth control pill brands registered in Ecuador, including combined, progestin-only and phasic pills. Some of the brands you can expect to see are Belara, Cerazette, Ciclomex, Diane, Duofem, Exluton, Femiane, Gynera, Lo-Femenal, Marvelon, Mercilon, Microgynon, Microlut, Minesse, Minulet, Norvetal, Qlaira, Trinordiol and Yasmin..
• In Spanish, the word for condom is "condón."
• If you want the contraceptive injection ("anticonceptivo inyectable” in Spanish), you can try to check out local pharmacies. In many Latin American countries, you can get the injection directly at the pharmacy, but we're not sure if this is possible in Ecuador.
• If you want the contraceptive implant ("anticonceptivo inyectable” in Spanish), you can find Jadelle or Norplant in Ecuador..
• If you want an IUD ("DIU” in Spanish), you can find Mirena in Ecuador.

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

Emergency contraception is available in Ecuador. You can purchase it over-the-counter at pharmacies. From a legal standpoint, you may need a prescription, but this does not seem to be widely enforced. You can also get EC without a prescription from public hospitals. There seems to be no age restrictions on acquiring EC. In 2006, the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court prohibited the sales of Postinor 2, a popular emergency contraceptive brand, and this ban remains in place today. However, there are may other brands (see details below), which are accessible in Ecuador. In 2013, it was ruled by National FP regulations that EC would be available to all women in public health clinics, free of charge.

What to Get & Where to Get It

You can call it "la píldora del día después" ("the morning after pill" in Spanish). For dedicated, progestin only EC, there's Escapel, Glanique 1 and Impreviat (take 1 pill within 120 hours after unprotected sex). Other dedicated, progestin-only brands are Glanique, PostDay, Pregnon and Tace (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex). If you don't have access to EC, you can use some oral contraceptives as EC. You can use Neogynon, Ovral or Primovlar (take 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 2 more pills 12 hours later). You can also use Lo-Femenal, Nordette or Norvetal (take 4 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and take 4 more pills 12 hours later).

Since you can get free EC with no prescription at public hospitals, visit our city pages (such as Quito) to get local recommendations.

Costs

The price of EC should be about $10.

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

If you're not Ecuadorian and you're applying for long-term residency, the government will require that you take an HIV test. If you test positive, it's not clear whether you will/will not be deported. However, if you test positive for HIV/AIDS after you have acquired residency, you will not be deported.

What to Get & Where to Get It

Testing Facilities

• To say STD in Spanish, say "enfermedades de transmisión sexual."
• Visit our city pages to get local recommendations

Support

• Hospital VOZANDES - Provides HIV treatment. Address: Villalengua 267 y Avenida 10 de Agosto. QUITO/ Ecuador. Phone: +593 2 262 142.
• COMUNIDEC, Programa de Iniciativas frente al SIDA - HIV information / HIV NGO in Ecuador. Address: Avenida Eloy Alfaro 1824 y Belgica. QUITO/ Ecuador. Phone: +593 2 546 362 / Fax: +593 2 238 375 . E-mail: comunide@ecuanex.net.ec/
• Coalición ecuatoriana de personas que viven con VIH/sida (CEPVVS): Sede Central. Address: Bello Horizonte E10-90 y Manuel Iturrey, entre 6 de Diciembre y Coruña, Quito. Telephone: +593 2 3238 474. Email: info@coalicionecuatoriana.org
• Corporación Kimirina: Address: Bosmediano E14-38 y González Suárez, Conjunto Rodríguez Jaramillo, Casa N-5, Quito. Telephone: +593 2 2449585. Email: kimirina@kimirina.org
• Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad: Address: Baquerizo Moreno E7-86 y Diego de Almagro, Piso 3, Quito. Telephone: +593 99 561 7883. Email: fundacionecuatorianaequidad@hotmail.com
• Fundación VIHDA: Address: Luis Urdaneta 208 y Córdova, Guayaquil. Telephone: +593 4 2568863. Email: info@vihda.org.ec
• [www.salud.gob.ec/?p=2747/programa-nacional-de-prevencion-y-control-de-vihsida-its Ministerio de Salud Pública]: Estrategia Nacional de Salud Pública para VIH/SIDA. Address: Av. República del Salvador 36-64 y Suecia, Edificio del Ministerio de Salud Pública, Quito. Telephone: +593 2 381 4400. Email: maria.yerovi@msp.gob.ec

Medications & Vaccines

What to Get & Where to Get It

• If you have a yeast infection ("infección por levaduras" in Spanish), you can ask the pharmacist for Fluconazole, which is antifungal medication. They'll be able to give you Fluconazole or something similar.
• If you have a urinary tract infection ("Infecciones de las vías urinarias" in Spanish), you can contact a doctor/pharmacist to find out next steps.
• For HPV, there is a vaccination program in place, which targets 9 year old girls.

Menstruation

Note: Aside from pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups or 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 will mostly find pads and panty-liners in Quito. You may be able to find tampons with no applicators, like OB, in larger stores. As for menstrual cups, there are no known sellers of DivaCup, Mooncup or LadyCup in Ecuador, so you'll want to buy them online.

Gynecological Exams

What to Get & Where to Get It

• You can visit the city pages, like the Quito page, for local recommendations.

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.

Laws & Social Stigmas

In Ecuador, abortion is generally not permitted, as outlined in the Penal Code (1983). The only exceptions are to save the life, physical health or mental health of the woman, in cases of rape or incest, or "statutory rape committed against a woman who is an idiot or insane." It is not permitted due to potential fetal impairment, economic or social reasons, or available on request. If someone performs an illegal abortion with the woman's consent, that person is subject to two to five years in prison. If someone performs an illegal abortion without the woman's consent, that person is subject to three to six years in prison. If a woman induces her own abortion, or if she contents to an abortion, she may be subject to one to five years in prison. However, "If she consents to the performance of her abortion or causes the abortion herself to hide her dishonor she shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years."

According to a UN Report, "Although abortion is only permitted on therapeutic and limited juridical grounds, it is widely practised in Ecuador. The few studies available examining the incidence and prevalence of abortion do not distinguish between spontaneous and induced abortion and do not employ representative samples of the population. The scanty information available, however, suggests that the actual levels of induced abortion are greatly underestimated. Nevertheless, despite this high incidence, mortality associated with abortion is slightly lower than in other countries in the region."

In May 2019, it was reported that the Ecuadorian government is increasingly cracking down on women who obtain underground abortion services.

What to Get & Where to Get It

• Women on Waves Abortion Hotline - Misoprostol (the abortion pill) is available under the brand name Cytotec and Artrenac Pro SR but difficult to get. Please go to www.womenonweb.org to obtain abortion pills. Safe abortion hotline number: 593998301317. "In 2008 Women on Waves supported the launch of a safe abortion hotline by Coordinaora. Women with unwanted pregnancies who need help can get information about the best use of misoprostol for a safe abortion through this safe abortion hotline."
• Coordinadora Juvenil por la Equidad de Género.: Hotline: +593098301317. Centro Médico de Orientación y Planificación Familiar -CEMOPLAF. Wmail: cemoplaf@uio.satnet.net
• CEMOPLAF - check out this organization, which has many locations in Ecuador
• You may choose to travel to another country, where you can safely and legally obtain an abortion. You can legally get an abortion upon request in Mexico City, Uruguay, Guyana, Cuba or the United States of America.

Costs

If you are pregnant and considering getting an abortion outside Ecuador, you will need to consider the following costs: transportation to the country where you will be obtaining an abortion, hotel or accommodation costs in that country, cost of the abortion in the country and the total amount of days you may need to be in the country both before and after the abortion.

Advocacy & Counseling

List of Additional Resources

• Ministry of Public Health
• Centro Ecuatoriano para la Promoción y Acción de la Mujer (CEPAM): "CEPAM is one of the few organizations in Ecuador dedicated to achieving gender equality and preventing gender-based violence... CEPAM also provides sexual and reproductive health services, with an emphasis on community-based distribution of contraception and specialized educational and health services for young people." Phone: (+593)(4)2447347. Email: cepam@cepamgye.org
• Asylum Access Ecuador (AAE): "Asylum Access Ecuador (AAE) is an Ecuadorian-registered NGO and part of the Asylum Access family of organizations. Founded in 2007, AAE is a response to the critical gap in rights-based refugee assistance in Latin America... Are you a refugee in Ecuador? Contact our office by calling us at +593.2.2.545.914, e-mailing ecuador@asylumaccess.org or visit our office in Quito."
• Equaldex Ecuador: This website provides information on LGBTQ rights and laws in Ecuador. Note that homosexuality is legal in Ecuador, and homosexual unions are legal as well. It is legal to change gender, whether or not someone has undergone surgery, and there are laws against employment discrimination related to someone's sexual orientation.