A stockpile of contraceptives funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), valued at nearly $10 million [about €8.51 million], has been stored for months in Geel, Belgium. These millions of pills, implants and IUDs, still usable until 2031, were intended for the poorest African countries lacking a pharmaceutical industry.
Since early 2025, USAID has been undergoing dismantling by the Trump administration. The English-language press revealed that the American administration attempted to negotiate the resale of the stock to NGOs or private actors, such as the Gates Foundation or MSI Reproductive Choices. In June, the US administration ordered the stock to be destroyed, with incineration planned in France at a cost higher than shipping the products to recipient countries.
Only the activism of NGOs, feminist movements, political parties and civil society has so far prevented the destruction. On September 11, American authorities falsely told The New York Times that the stock had been destroyed, only to have the claim contradicted by Flemish authorities, who confirmed that the stock remains in Geel.
Lack of transparency
This tangled situation illustrates the great confusion caused by the dismantling of USAID. The American agency no longer responds to requests for information, despite its obligations to be transparent about public development aid operations. Its main contractor, Chemonics, hides behind its role as an intermediary and chooses to remain silent about its activities.
Swiss logistics company Kuehne + Nagel, which holds the stock in Geel, has retained the products with no party taking responsibility. The only certainty is that keeping the stock immobilized is expensive, with annual storage fees estimated at several hundred thousand euros, apparently paid for by American taxpayers. Regulations also prevent this stock from being destroyed.
Beyond being incomprehensible, the American order given in June to destroy the stock on European soil was illegal. European regulation prohibits any cross-border transfer of waste without prior notification. Since no notification was made, any transfer to France or elsewhere would have been illegal. Additionally, Flemish legislation is similar to French law, where the anti-waste law for a circular economy, known as the AGEC law, prohibits the incineration or disposal of still-usable medicines without exemption. No such exemption has ever been requested, either in Belgium or in France.
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