US Aid Cut Affects Free Supply of Contraceptives to Poorer Countries

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The stock, held in Belgium and Dubai, includes condoms, contraceptive implants, pills, and intrauterine devices, together worth around USD 11 million.

Contraceptives that could help prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies in some of the world’s poorest countries are stuck in warehouses because of U.S. aid cuts and could be destroyed.

The stock, held in Belgium and Dubai, includes condoms, contraceptive implants, pills, and intrauterine devices, together worth around USD 11 million.

It has been stalled since the Trump administration started cutting foreign aid as part of its “America First” policy in February, as the U.S. government no longer wants to donate the contraceptives or pay the costs for delivery, they said.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has instead asked the contractor managing its health supply chain, Chemonics, to try to sell it. An internal USAID memo, sent in April, said a quantity of contraceptives was being kept in warehouses and they should be “immediately transferred to another entity to prevent waste or additional costs”.

It is reported that no decision has been made about the future of contraceptives. They did not respond to questions about the reasons why the contraceptives were in storage or the impact of the U.S. aid cuts and delays.

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Selling or donating the contraceptives has been challenging, according to the former USAID official, although talks are ongoing. Another option on the table is destroying it, at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars. As time goes on, shelf-lives will also become an issue, one of the sources said.