Almost $10 million worth of contraceptives, which were purchased with funds from the now-defunct United States Agency for International Assistance (USAID) and stored in its warehouses, will be destroyed in France. About this informsReuters agency.
This happened after the administration of Donald Trump refused to sell these assets for further transfer to countries in need of humanitarian support. The implants, birth control pills and IUDs were stored in a warehouse in Belgium for several months after the suspension of US foreign aid. The Trump administration froze this aid after taking office.
Several NGOs, UN representatives and Belgian authorities have approached the US with an offer to buy back these contraceptives to give them to countries with reproductive health shortages. However, the American side either ignored these appeals or flatly refused.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium reported that within the framework of the negotiations with the USA “it was not possible to find an acceptable alternative solution” instead of disposal of contraceptives. The Trump administration followed an internal policy that prohibits cooperation with organizations that support access to abortion and did not want to give away products with the USAID logo. Contraceptives will now be destroyed by incineration in France. The cost of this procedure for the American government will be about 160 thousand dollars.
It will be recalled that with the arrival of the Trump administration, international aid was frozen, and USAID was liquidated as a separate structure and subordinated to the US State Department.
