Why U.S. Funded Contraceptives Worth $10 Million Are Being Burned In France While Poor Nations Plead For Help

India.com

5 days ago

France Contraceptive Burning: In a warehouse in Belgium, crates of unused birth control pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants – funded by American taxpayers and meant for women in the world's poorest countries – are being prepared for destruction. The supplies, worth nearly $10 million, are not expiring anytime soon. Some carry shelf lives until 2031. But they are still being burned, in France, at a cost of over $160,000.
This wastage is the result of a deliberate choice by the U.S. government. After President Donald Trump ordered a shutdown of foreign assistance programmes of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in January, thousands of boxes of reproductive health supplies were stranded.
Aid groups rushed in. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and reproductive health NGOs offered to take the contraceptives and send them where they were needed most – in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, where these supplies are often the only thing preventing unsafe abortions.
But Washington said no. Over and over.
Offers Turned Down, Rights Sidelined
Sarah Shaw, who works with MSI Reproductive Choices, said her organisation was ready to repackage and ship the supplies at no cost to U.S. taxpayers. They were even willing to follow U.S. rules, but they were told something shocking: the supplies would only be sold at full market price.
'This is not about money It feels more like an ideological assault on reproductive rights,' Shaw told Reuters.
Aid groups warned of the human consequences of women denied access to basic contraceptive care, of lives destabilised by unwanted pregnancies and of a surge in dangerous abortion attempts. But the U.S. government refused to budge. The boxes remained untouched. And then came the decision: incinerate everything.
Pressure, Politics and Fears of Abortion Links
A source close to the talks said the Trump administration feared the supplies might end up with organisations linked to abortion services, something that could technically violate his funding rules. Stamped with the USAID logo, the packaging became another sticking point. The government simply did not want the risk, even if that risk was remote.
In Brussels, Belgian officials tried to negotiate. They asked if the supplies could be redirected or handed off. 'Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints,' Belgium's foreign ministry said. But their plea fell on deaf ears.
Too Little, Too Late
Even in Washington, lawmakers tried to intervene albeit late. A few introduced legislation this month in a last-ditch effort to stop the destruction. But insiders admit it may already be too late.
Reuters also obtained an internal USAID memo from April. It clearly recommended that the supplies be immediately handed over to another agency to avoid waste and added costs. That advice was ignored.
So now, $10 million in birth control will go up in smoke. Not because it was faulty. Not because it was old. But because politics triumphed over people and ideology outweighed empathy.