US paying almost $25,000 a month to store unusable contraceptives stuck in Belgium
The stock has sat unused after aid cuts and a cancelled delivery contract left most supplies unusable, officials said.
- Around $9.7 million worth of contraceptives have been stranded in a Belgian warehouse since last year, when The United States froze foreign aid, incurring ongoing monthly storage costs.
- During the storage process, 20 of 24 truckloads—or around $8 million of the stock—became unusable due to improper temperature control, and The United States reversed a previous order to destroy the contraceptives in September.
- Between January 2025 and this year, storing and transporting the stock cost $360,667, according to an Office of the Inspector General report, while The United States currently pays $24,550 monthly for warehouse storage in Belgium.
- Chemonics proposed donating the remaining $1.7 million of usable stock to Uganda for $239,000, but The United States has not provided instructions, and the government did not respond to requests for comment.
- Beth Schlachter, senior director of external relations and advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, called the waste "simply unconscionable" given global family planning needs, as reproductive rights organizations urge The United States to release the remaining stock.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Journal Gazette & Times-Courier
US paying thousands to store birth control
The U.S. is spending almost $25,000 every month to store contraceptives in Belgium that were originally bought for use in poorer nations but are now mainly unusable, according to a report from officials reviewed
Trump admin paying thousands to store ruined USAID contraceptives
Millions of dollars' worth of contraceptives meant to be distributed to low-income nations in Africa have expired, but the Trump administration is paying tens of thousands of dollars a month to keep them in storage in Belgium, according to a report from the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) inspector general.
US paying almost $25,000 a month to store unusable contraceptives stuck in Belgium
The United States is spending almost $25,000 every month to store contraceptives in Belgium that were originally bought for use in poorer nations but are now mainly unusable, according to a report from officials reviewed
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