Belgian officials say US-funded contraceptives still in storage, despite reports of destruction
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The warehouse in Geel, Belgium, where millions of dollars’ worth of birth control pills and other contraceptives have been stored.
PHOTO: HILARY SWIFT/NYTIMES
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BRUSSELS - US-funded contraceptives and medicines valued at nearly US$10 million (S$12.8 million) remain in a Belgian warehouse despite reports of their destruction, a government spokesperson said in a statement on Sept 12.
Sources told Reuters in July that the contraceptives, which were originally intended for poor nations, would instead be incinerated after Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organisations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations.
A US State Department spokesperson later confirmed that the US government was planning to spend US$167,000 to incinerate the stocks at a facility in France that handles medical waste.
The Belgian government has been engaged in diplomatic efforts to stop the destruction. Local laws in Flanders, which has its own government, ban the incineration of medicines and medical devices that have been properly stored and are still usable, even if the disposal happens in another country.
On the morning of Sept 12, Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns, who is responsible for the matter, sent an inspection team to the warehouse in Geel, located in the province of Antwerp, following a New York Times report that the supplies had been destroyed.
“The Enforcement Division of the Department of Environment carried out on-site inspections this morning and confirmed that no shipments have been transported for incineration,” the spokesperson for Mr Brouns said.
The Flemish authorities would require a request from the US government for incineration for such items to be destroyed.
“To date, such a derogation has not been requested, and therefore has not been granted,” the spokesperson said. He also added that if it were to be granted, an additional fee would apply for the amount of waste incinerated.
The US State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Family planning “targeted”
The supplies have been stuck for months in the warehouse in Geel, following President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze US foreign aid in January 2025.
The supplies, worth US$9.7 million, are due to expire between April 2027 and September 2031, according to an internal document listing the warehouse stocks and verified by three sources.
They comprise contraceptive implants and pills as well as intrauterine devices to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, according to the sources and a screengrab seen by Reuters confirming the planned destruction.
US-based reproductive rights organisation PAI said on Sept 12 that the decision to incinerate the supplies was “appalling.”
“The Trump administration has been intentional and explicit in trying to limit access to things like pills, injectables and IUDs. They have targeted family planning and reproductive health from day one and this reflects an ideology imposed by a few, at the expense of millions,” president and CEO of PAI, Ms Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, told Reuters. REUTERS
