Since the Trump government scrapped the USAID program, millions of euros' worth of condoms, contraceptives and HIV medication stored in Flanders might have to be binned
Some 26 million condoms, millions of packages of birth control pills, hundreds of thousands of contraceptive implants and 50,000 HIV prevention ampules once destined for developing countries might have to be destroyed. The products are currently being stored in warehouse complexes in Dubai and in Geel, Antwerp province.
The storage sites were used by USAID, the US foreign aid agency shut down by US president Donald Trump. All over the world, medicine, food and other necessecities meant to be distributed by USAID are sitting in warehouses. The products stored in Geel are valued at more than €8.3 million.
If a stock is nearing its expiration date, we usually take great pains to get it to where it is needed the most
Former USAID worker in Flanders
While aid services have been transferred to the US State Department, that budget has also been slashed, meaning that it is likely the preventative medications will never be distributed, according to Tom Van Boven, who worked for USAID in Flanders.
“If a stock is nearing its expiration date, we usually take great pains to get it to where it is needed the most,” he said. “But we’ve basically been shut down. I lost my job last September.”
The Trump administration wants to simply dispose of the products. International humanitarian groups have been trying to convince the US government to distribute the remaining products instead. According to one negotiator, the government’s response was to tell the organizations to buy the products from the US government if they wanted to distribute them.