The Trump administration is holding $9.7 million worth of US-purchased contraceptives in warehouses in Belgium rather than delivering them to women overseas, as aid workers voice concerns that the US government is running down the clock until the commodities expire.
CNN previously reported on the undelivered contraceptives – once slated for donation to various African nations after being procured by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) during the Biden administration. They are now being held indefinitely in warehouses in Belgium as the United States has discontinued many of its foreign assistance programs.
The Trump administration began dismantling the now-defunct USAID in January, leaving a massive hole in international aid budgets for family planning, as well as malaria, HIV, child hunger and other pressing issues.
The US State Department previously said in a statement that it had taken a “preliminary decision” to destroy the contraceptives in Belgium, at a cost of $167,000 for incineration.
But that decision has been thwarted by regulations in Flanders, Belgium, which has a ban on incinerating reusable medical devices.
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