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The Centre for Reproductive Health and Education (CRHE) has strongly criticised a preliminary decision by the United States State Department to destroy US$9.7 million worth of USAID-funded contraceptives, calling the move a major setback to global reproductive health efforts.
According to international media reports, the Trump-era policy reversal will result in the incineration of U.S.-purchased contraceptives rather than their distribution to women in underserved communities abroad.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed the decision, stating that incineration would cost an additional $167,000.
CRHE Executive Director, Amos Mwale, told Zambia Monitor in an interview that the move comes at a time when many low- and middle-income countries, including Zambia, were facing critical shortages of family planning supplies.
“These commodities, fully funded by American taxpayers, were intended to support women in some of the world’s most underserved regions,” Mwale said.
He added that: “Choosing to discard life-saving supplies—and incur even more taxpayer expense in doing so—is a deeply concerning reversal of the U.S.’s longstanding commitment to global reproductive health.”
Mwale further expressed alarm that the U.S. government reportedly rejected offers from global partners to cover the cost of shipping and distributing the contraceptives.
“This is not just a matter of wasted resources. It’s a matter of lost lives and denied rights. We call on all stakeholders to speak out and advocate for the reversal of this harmful decision,” he said.
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The contraceptives, which included long-acting reversible methods such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and injectables, are currently stored in a warehouse in Geel, Belgium.
According to Belgian authorities, diplomatic discussions are underway with the U.S. Embassy to find alternative solutions.
A U.S. congressional aide told CNN that most of the products have expiration dates extending into 2028 and 2029, with the earliest listed as April 2027.
A total of nearly five million individual contraceptive items are reportedly slated for destruction.
The State Department referred to the stockpile as “certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts.”
The decision has sparked international criticism, particularly from global health advocates and women’s rights groups, who argued that it undermined decades of progress in reproductive healthcare access.
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