U.S. Aid Contraceptives Stuck in Belgium, $30 Million Worth Now Expired

(LONDON/NAIROBI, June 15 - Reuters) According to an official report reviewed by Reuters, the United States is currently spending nearly $25,000 per month to store contraceptives in a Belgian warehouse—items originally procured for low-income countries—but most of these supplies are now unusable.

The shipment, valued at approximately $9.7 million (about NT$306 million), includes contraceptive implants and birth control pills. It has remained stranded in Belgium since January 2025, when the U.S. first froze its foreign aid programs. Aid officials say these supplies could have prevented millions of unintended pregnancies and saved countless lives.

According to a report from the now-dissolved Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), storage and transportation costs for the goods from January 2025 through March 2025 reached $360,667.

The report states that monthly warehouse fees continue at $24,550 (approximately NT$800,000).

The U.S. government has not responded to requests for comment.

The data cited in the report was provided by Chemonics, a U.S. foreign aid contractor responsible for procuring and shipping these contraceptive supplies on behalf of the U.S. government. Chemonics did not respond to media inquiries.

After the U.S. canceled the distribution contract for the contraceptives, Chemonics attempted to find buyers or arrange donations through other organizations. However, sources told Reuters that these efforts stalled because U.S. authorities failed to clarify the final disposition of the supplies.

Reproductive rights groups have repeatedly urged the U.S. government to release the supplies for use by women in low-income countries.

Beth Schlachter, Senior Director of External Relations and Advocacy at the nonprofit MSI Reproductive Choices, said: 'At a time of global need, millions of dollars’ worth of life-saving family planning supplies have sat idle for nearly a year, are now expiring, and U.S. taxpayers are still footing the bill for rising storage costs. This is unacceptable.'

She added, 'The scale of this waste is simply indefensible.'

The report notes that in June 2025, the U.S. ordered the removal and destruction of the supplies. However, during the disposal process, about $8 million worth of contraceptives lost efficacy due to improper storage and lack of required temperature control. The U.S. government withdrew the destruction order in September 2025.

Although Chemonics proposed spending $239,000 to donate $1.7 million worth of still-usable supplies to recipients in Uganda, U.S. authorities have yet to issue further instructions on the disposition of the goods.

An insider said the Belgian government had also offered to take over the supplies via humanitarian organizations or purchase them, but the last contact between the two governments on this matter was about three to four months ago. (Compiled by Liu Wen-yu) 1150616