Belgium has mounted a diplomatic push to stop the Trump administration from destroying a vast shipment of contraceptives originally purchased by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The supplies, valued at around $10 million, include implants and intrauterine devices — tools regarded by health agencies as indispensable for birth control campaigns in low-income regions.
Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Friday that most of the cache was destined for sub-Saharan Africa, where contraceptives are often scarce and women’s health programs heavily rely on international aid. “We continue through diplomatic channels to vigorously advocate against such waste,” he told AFP, warning that policy reversals in Washington should not come at the expense of life-saving material already paid for.
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The Trump administration confirmed last month that it intended to scrap the stockpile, describing it as part of a wider rollback of aid programs associated with President Joe Biden. Prevot revealed that part of the consignment had already been moved out of its original facility and was being held under poor storage conditions, raising concerns that the products could be lost even before a final decision is taken.
Rumors that the contraceptives had been shipped to France for incineration, he added, were inaccurate. “Whether here at the US Embassy or directly in Washington, we have intervened to say: you are changing your policy, we regret it, but please at least allow what has already been purchased to reach the appropriate recipients,” Prevot said.
Authorities in Flanders, Belgium’s Dutch-speaking northern region, confirmed the supplies are being stored in a warehouse in Geel, Antwerp province. Officials noted that destroying them on Belgian soil would require a formal exemption from strict regional bans on burning medical stock.