Goats and Soda : NPR

The saga of U.S.-purchased contraceptives destined for sub-Saharan Africa and stranded in Belgium has taken a new twist since the Trump administration cut foreign aid earlier this year.

Questions were raised this week about whether the reserves, originally estimated at $9.7 million, could be larger than previously thought. And an official on site said that some of these products had spoiled.

Authorities in the Belgian region of Flanders have confirmed that in addition to four truckloads of unexpired contraceptives in a warehouse in the town of Geel, another 20 truckloads of contraceptives ended up in the village of Callot, but were stored incorrectly and are therefore unusable – at least as contraceptives.

“Medicines from 20 displaced shipments cannot be returned to circulation due to improper storage,” said Jo Brauns, the Flemish environment minister. wrote in published replies to a question from a deputy. “On the other hand, medical devices in these shipments, such as syringes for injectable contraceptives, are still subject to reuse – subject to other pharmaceutical requirements.”

Along with dissolution of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) earlier this year the US specifically stopped family planning programs, for which it had long been the world's largest bilateral donor, because it did not consider them life savingdespite extensive evidence that such services reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

As a result, a shipment of contraceptives intended for girls and women in a number of low-income countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mali, Tanzania and Zambia, became stuck in Belgium.

Several aid groups tried to buy and redistribute supplies of IUDs, implants and pills, but said The US rejected their proposals. The Trump administration cited a policy that prohibits foreign entities from using U.S. funds to provide abortion services, even though the products in stock do not include any abortion methods.

Then, in July, the State Department confirmed that it plans to use taxpayer money to burn products in France by the end of the month, although they won't expire until 2027.

This sparked an outcry from humanitarian groups around the world, including Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC), which said destruction of the single stock could result in 362,000 unwanted pregnancies, 161,000 unplanned births, 110,000 unsafe abortions and 718 preventable maternal deaths.

The government's end-July deadline came and went without confirmation of destruction, giving aid groups hope. And in September, after USAID reported New York Times that the stock had been destroyed, the Belgian authorities checked the warehouse and confirmed they are still there.

As Browns confirmed this week, it turns out these weren't the only contraceptives left in limbo.

What's in these trucks? The discovery raises even more questions

Browns said his administration inspected the warehouse in mid-August after learning the products were being shipped to France.

“It appears that there were no planned deliveries to France,” he wrote. “However, it was determined that 20 of the 24 shipments had already been transferred to another storage site in Kallo, which is not specifically equipped to store drugs.”

It is unclear exactly what types of products were transferred to Callo or whether they were part of the original stock. NPR reached out to the State Department for more information but had not received a response by press time.

Marcel van Valen, supply chain manager for the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), told NPR via email that they believe the 20 trucks are “additional products at risk of being burned” in addition to the $9.7 million stored in the warehouse.

Aid groups want the rest distributed before it's too late

Brauns, the Flemish minister, stressed that while Callot's contraceptives cannot be reused, their medical equipment can be reused. This is in addition to the cargo stored in the Gil warehouse.

Browns wrote that his administration is in close contact with the foreign secretary, adding that “diplomatic discussions and efforts are truly critical to ensure that these resources continue to be reused.” Reuters reported in October that such negotiations between the US and Belgium were suspended during the government shutdown.

Humanitarian groups are calling on the Trump administration to donate the products to either a non-governmental organization or a foreign government.

Chiara Cosentino, coordinator of Countdown 2030 Europe, a coalition of European reproductive rights organizations, said in a statement that the administration's “clear strategy is to let these vital supplies run out rather than share them with those who need and want them.”

“It is unacceptable that the Trump administration is holding more than $9.7 million in U.S.-funded contraception and the health and well-being of 1.4 million women and girls in the global South hostage,” she added.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa where these products are needed—many of which are already facing humanitarian crises—are facing growing shortages of contraceptives as a result of the Trump administration's cuts to foreign aid.

“After USAID support ended, it became much more difficult to continue providing our services,” said Dr. Bakari Omari, project coordinator for IPPF member association Tanzania. in the statement. “Previously, anyone who wanted to avoid pregnancy could come to us and choose the contraceptive method that suited them. Now women have to switch to what is available, otherwise we won’t be able to help them.”

Reproductive health advocates say the products stranded in Belgium are only part of the problem and that more contraceptives are likely to be stranded elsewhere in the global supply chain. One group PAI says The stockpile of contraceptives already purchased by the U.S. government but sitting in limbo at risk of expiration could be worth as much as $40 million.