Around 100 demonstrators gathered across a wide boulevard from the US Embassy in Brussels on Thursday, September 18, chanting "Shame on Trump!" They held crosses and signs demanding respect for women's rights and declared that the US president was preparing to destroy the lives of thousands of women. "We are facing an absurd situation resulting from a purely ideological attack," said Sandra Van den Eynde, a member of Sensoa International, a non-profit organization advocating for global sexual health and rights.

Together with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), a European network of family planning centers, the organization fears the destruction of contraceptives stored in a warehouse in Geel, in the province of Antwerp. Since the beginning of the year, Kuehne+Nagel, a Swiss logistics company, has stored 26 million condoms, millions of contraceptive pills and products, and 50,000 bottles of antiretrovirals intended for HIV treatment at the site.

This shipment was originally intended for USAID, the US agency responsible for health, humanitarian assistance, and international development. The Biden administration had authorized the purchase of these products, valued at $9.7 million (approximately €8.2 million).

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