France under pressure to stop $9.7m of USAID contraceptives being destroyed [View all]

Source: The Guardian

France under pressure to stop $9.7m of USAID contraceptives being destroyed

US reportedly planning to destroy contraceptives, probably destined for Africa, in France after dismantling USAID

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and Lisa O’Carroll in Brussels
Thu 31 Jul 2025 14.15 BST
Last modified on Thu 31 Jul 2025 18.27 BST

The French government has said it is closely monitoring a US plan to destroy millions of dollars of contraceptives stocked in Europe after outrage from French feminists, rights groups and family planning organisations at what they called a wasteful attack on women’s rights.

The Guardian reported this month that Donald Trump’s administration planned to destroy $9.7m of contraceptives that are believed to be in a warehouse in Belgium but may be moved to France for incineration. They are mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, which had been bought under public health programmes run by the US Agency for International Development and were probably intended for women in Africa.

A US state department spokesperson told Agence France-Presse this week that “a preliminary decision was made to destroy” certain birth control products from “terminated Biden-era USAID contracts”.

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The contraceptives, stored in a warehouse in Geel in Belgium, were reportedly planned to be incinerated in France, although there has been no confirmation of this by France. France and Belgium are under pressure to prevent any destruction.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/31/france-under-pressure-to-stop-97m-of-usaid-contraceptives-being-destroyed