The Trump administration has ordered the destruction of over $9.7 million worth of contraceptives originally intended to go to women and girls in low-income African nations.
The loss of the US-funded contraceptive supplies is predicted to result in 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions. The contraceptives, many of which don’t expire until 2027 to 2029, are already manufactured, packaged, and ready for distribution.
According to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPFF), the decision will deny more than 1.4 million women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mali access to life-saving healthcare.
The contraceptives sat in a warehouse in Belgium for months after the US decision to halt much of its foreign aid and dismantle its foreign aid program, USAID. They will now be destroyed in France.
Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, Africa Regional Director of IPPF, says the decision to destroy the ready-to-use contraceptives is “appalling and extremely wasteful”.
“These life-saving medical supplies were intended to countries where access to reproductive care is already limited, and in some cases, part of a broader humanitarian response, such as in the DRC,” Petrus-Barry said.
“The choice to incinerate them is unjustifiable and undermines efforts to protect the health and rights of women and girls.”
According to the IPPF, it had offered to take the contraceptives for redistribution at no cost to the US taxpayer, but the government declined the offer.
More than 40 per cent of the value of the contraceptive stockpile was allocated for shipment to Tanzania. It means 1,031,400 injectable contraceptives and 365,100 implants will not be distributed to women there.
“We are facing a major challenge. The impact of the USAID funding cuts has already significantly affected the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in Tanzania – leading to a shortage of contraceptive commodities, especially implants. This shortage has directly impacted clients’ choices regarding family planning uptake,” said Dr Bakari Omary, Project Coordinator at UMATI in Tanzania.
In Kenya, 108,000 women will not have access to contraceptive implants.
“In Kenya, the effects of US funding disruptions are already being felt. The funding freeze has caused stockouts of contraceptives, leaving facilities with less than five months’ supply instead of the required 15 months; reduced capacity building for health workers; disrupted digital logistics and health information systems, and caused a 46 per cent funding gap in Kenya’s national family planning program,” said Nelly Munyasia, Executive Director for the Reproductive Health Network in Kenya.
“These systemic setbacks come at a time when unmet need for contraception remains high. Nearly one in five girls aged 15–19 is already pregnant or has given birth. Unsafe abortions remain among the five leading causes of maternal deaths in Kenya.”
There are now growing calls for the French government to step in to salvage the situation.
“We call on the French government to take responsibility and act urgently to prevent the destruction of USAID-funded contraceptives,” said Sarah Durocher, President of Le Planning famille.
“It is unacceptable that France, a country that champions feminist diplomacy, has remained silent while others, like Belgium, have stepped in to engage with the US government. In the face of this injustice, solidarity with the people who were counting on these life-saving supplies is not optional: it is a moral imperative.”
It comes after the US recently decided to destroy emergency food assistance after refusing to authorise its delivery for several months. The food items reached their expiration date and could not be sent to countries that desperately need it.