Almost $10 million in contraceptives paid for by america authorities are nonetheless being held in warehouse in Belgium, regardless of experiences the Trump administration has destroyed them, officers stated Friday.
The contraceptives had been bought by america Company for Worldwide Growth to be distributed to low-income international locations earlier than the company was dismantled earlier this 12 months.
Since then, the stockpile of contraception capsules, hormonal implants, pictures and intrauterine gadgets have sat in a warehouse in Geel, Belgium, as lawmakers, activists and well being nonprofits within the U.S. and overseas scrambling to save lots of them.
A number of organizations together with the United Nation’s sexual and reproductive well being company, UNFPA, supplied to purchase the merchandise. However the Trump administration refused a number of bids for the nonetheless usable $9.7 million value of contraceptives and deliberate to spend $167,000 to destroy them at a medical waste facility in France over the summer time.
The New York Instances reported late Thursday that the merchandise had been destroyed on the path of Trump officers. However a spokesperson for a Belgium official instructed The Hill that experiences of the merchandise’ destruction are unfaithful, claiming that an on-site inspection of the contraceptives was performed Friday morning.
“The report previously published in The New York Times stating that the contraceptives stored at Keuhne & Nagal had been destroyed is incorrect,” wrote Tom Demeyer, spokesperson for the Cupboard of the Flemish Minister of Setting and Agriculture.
Demeyer added that for the reason that contraceptives haven’t expired, they fall below an area company ban on incinerating reusable items.
“Such an incineration can only take place if an ‘exemption from the incineration ban’ is granted by the Minister for the Environment and a double levy on waste incineration is paid,” he wrote.
“No such exemption has been requested or granted to date.”
The conflicting experiences have shaken among the well being nonprofits which have labored to acquire and monitor the contraceptives.
“We’re carefully monitoring this example, however stay deeply disenchanted by the dearth of transparency from the U.S. authorities, which has created confusion. We hear one factor from one supply and one other from elsewhere. Regardless, the choice to incinerate contraceptives stays appalling,” stated Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, president and CEO of PAI.
“These are lifesaving provides that ladies and households urgently want, and the U.S. — with its lengthy historical past of management in international well being — ought to be upholding that legacy, not destroying it. The contradictory info popping out of the administration solely underscores the pressing want for honesty and accountability in how these selections are made.”
USAID didn’t instantly reply to questions from The Hill.
