Nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives meant for women in some of the world’s poorest countries never reached them, instead, the supplies were destroyed under the Trump administration, according to a reports.
The contraceptives, valued at $9.7 million, had been procured by USAID during President Joe Biden’s term to support women in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with limited access to reproductive health products. They included pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and hormonal implants.
But after Donald Trump returned to office in January, his administration dismantled the aid program, ordering the destruction of the supplies despite offers from NGOs, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, to purchase or accept them as donations.
A USAID spokeswoman defended the move, calling the products “abortifacient birth control” and citing Trump’s pledge to protect “the lives of unborn children all around the world”.
According to the report, the products had been warehoused in Belgium for months while U.S. policy changes took effect.
Belgian Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot, described the destruction as wasteful, noting that his government had urged Washington to reconsider.
Officials eventually ordered the incineration of the stockpiles at an estimated cost of $167,000, likely in France through a medical waste contractor, a decision reported condemned by rights groups and politicians in France, amid calls for international efforts to salvage the supplies.
The Trump administration has reignited controversy over reproductive health aid after the planned destruction of the contraceptives procured under President Biden, reversing policies aimed at supporting women in developing countries,
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