Why nearly 5 million US-bought contraceptives are gathering dust in Belgium instead of reaching women in need

Nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives bought by the US government for overseas aid programs are gathering dust in warehouses in Belgium. The supplies, procured under the Biden administration’s USAID health initiative, were intended for countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, and Mali, where access to family planning tools remains critically low.

Now, aid groups fear the Trump administration is letting time run out until the commodities expire, a move they say could set back women’s health and reproductive rights in some of the world’s poorest regions, according to a report by CNN.

From global lifeline to locked storage

The contraceptives, including copper intrauterine devices (IUDs), hormonal implants, injections, and birth control tablets, are being stored in facilities managed by logi