A stock of U.S.-bought birth control, meant for sub-Saharan Africa, goes bad in Belgium

NPR, By Rachel Treisman
Published November 15, 2025

There's a new twist in the saga of the U.S.-purchased contraceptives intended for sub-Saharan Africa and stuck in Belgium since the Trump administration scaled back foreign aid earlier this year.

This week, questions were raised about whether the stockpile, originally valued at $9.7 million, might be bigger than previously thought. And an official on the ground said some of those products have gone bad.

Authorities in the Flanders region of Belgium confirmed that in addition to the four truckloads' worth of unexpired birth control sitting in a warehouse in the city of Geel, another 20 truckloads of supplies ended up in the village of Kallo but were stored improperly and are therefore unusable — at least as contraceptives.

Continued; https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/npr-national-news/2025-11-15/a-stock-of-u-s-bought-birth-control-meant-for-sub-saharan-africa-goes-bad-in-belgium

The U.S. said it would burn $9.7 million of birth control. Its fate is still unclear

September 16, 2025
By Rachel Treisman

For months, $9.7 million worth of birth control meant for women in low-income countries has sat stranded in a Belgian warehouse — apparently destined for destruction — as a result of the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid.

…Humanitarians' hopes were seemingly dashed last week, when the New York Times, citing a statement from USAID, reported that the contraceptives had been destroyed. But the next day, it later reported, Belgian authorities entered the warehouse and confirmed the contraceptives were still there.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/09/16/nx-s1-5511304/birth-control-foreign-aid-destruction-belgium-warehouse

USAID’s reproductive health funding has saved millions of lives. Now it’s gone.

For decades, USAID’s family planning program was the main source for contraception and HIV treatment in some countries. Experts say without it, women and LGBTQ+ people will die.

Jessica Kutz
February 7, 2025

On Sunday, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, boasted that he was gutting the federal agency tasked with providing foreign aid to its poorest. “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk, the tech billionaire head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, posted on his social media platform, X.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was established in 1961 to provide foreign assistance to impoverished countries around the world through food aid and humanitarian and economic development work. It is also one of the world’s largest providers of contraception through its family planning program. According to the Congressional Research Service, the agency’s funding in 2023 was about $40 billion, which represented less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

Continued: https://19thnews.org/2025/02/usaid-women-lgbtq-reproductive-health-funding-pause/

Opinion: 5 ways to thrive despite Trump’s anti-abortion global gag rule

The global development community has been through a cyclical U.S. ban on foreign assistance for abortion services before — and we can be resilient to it again.

By Beth Schlachter
13 January 2025

Donald Trump intends to sign “100 executive orders” shortly after taking office on Jan. 20 — one of which is expected to be the “global gag rule.” Reinstated by every Republican U.S. president since Ronal Reagan, this policy states that no organization can receive U.S. foreign assistance if they provide abortion services or information, advocate for abortion, or refer someone to abortion care.

Trump’s signature on the global gag rule has the potential to be a death warrant for many women. Contrary to its stated intent of “protecting life,” organizations such as the one I work for, MSI Reproductive Choices, have documented that it does the opposite. When women and girls are denied fundamental reproductive health services, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths increase.

Continued: https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-5-ways-to-thrive-despite-trump-s-anti-abortion-global-gag-rule-109024

13.01.2025

International Planned Parenthood Federation

Ipas

MSI Reproductive Choices

Why Civic Engagement for Abortion Advocacy Matters

8/24/2023
by EVE BRECKER

Last year, Americans lost their federal right to abortion, despite polls that suggest favorable public opinion for abortion access is as high as 85 percent. In a country where legislation is supposed to reflect the demands of its people, this dissonance with public opinion is outrageous.

After all, democracy hinges on effective civic engagement: mechanisms that enable the public to express their concerns, and individual and collective actions designed to address these issues. While polls show the majority of the American public consistently supports abortion rights, 24 states have passed abortion bans so far. Given this landscape and the failure of our country to adopt laws that are widely supported, we must look outside the U.S. for models of strong civic engagement in order to restore abortion rights here at home.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/08/24/abortion-support-civic-engagement-advocacy-ban-laws/

Under attack, global sexual health ‘can’t rely on US’

by SciDev.Net
July 25, 2022

Religious campaigns and political interference could threaten hard-won reproductive health rights in the global South in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision on abortion, health advocates fear.

Cross-border solidarity and coordination will be needed to face down the growing global threat to reproductive rights, health and policy experts have told SciDev.Net.

Continued: https://yubanet.com/world/under-attack-global-sexual-health-cant-rely-on-us/

Under attack, global sexual health ‘can’t rely on US’

July 20, 2022
By: Fiona Broom

Religious campaigns and political interference could threaten hard-won reproductive health rights in the global South in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision on abortion, health advocates fear.

Cross-border solidarity and coordination will be needed to face down the growing global threat to reproductive rights, health and policy experts have told SciDev.Net.

Continued: https://www.scidev.net/global/features/under-attack-global-sexual-health-cant-rely-on-us/

The Supreme Court has undermined U.S. credibility on human right

By Josh Rogin
June 29, 2022

For decades, the United States has been a world leader in promoting reproductive rights and women’s rights. But now, by overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has struck a severe blow to American credibility in this role. And that, in turn, undermines U.S. international advocacy on these issues, which could result in a cascade of negative consequences around the world.

Last week’s Supreme Court decision on
abortion triggered a deluge of criticism from world leaders, protests at U.S.
embassies abroad and general embarrassment for President Biden, who is
traveling in Europe. Over the longer term, international erosion of faith in
the United States’ commitment to reproductive rights and the effects of changes
in U.S. law could do real harm, according to foreign officials, lawmakers and
leaders of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) I’ve spoken with.

Unblocked: https://wapo.st/3ImcYTL

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/29/supreme-court-undermined-us-credibility-human-rights-women-abortion/

29.06.2022

Global Gag Rule

Human Rights Watch

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Jeanne Shaheen

Joe Biden

Josh Rogin

Karla Berdichevsky Feldman

Macarena Saez

Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins

PAI

Roe v. Wade

U.S. Supreme Court

Global reproductive and women’s rights groups react to overturn of Roe v. Wade

June 24, 2022
Malaka Gharib

How will the overturn of Roe v. Wade affect abortion rights and access outside the U.S.?

Groups that are opposed to abortion have welcomed the decision, including the Family Resource Council, which has called it "a major victory for life." But many global reproductive and women's rights groups are condemning the decision and warn that the U.S. overturning of the constitutional right to abortion will have far-reaching effects around the globe. Here's a sampling of reactions:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/06/24/1107370547/global-reproductive-and-womens-rights-groups-react-to-overturn-of-roe-v-wade

Nigeria – Healthcare Givers Free To Access Global Funding With GAG Rule Repeal —PAI

By Sade Oguntola
On Apr 8, 2021

Following the withdrawal of the Global Gap rule by President Joe Biden, groups and stakeholders into reproductive and sexual reproductive health have been urged to come forward to access global funding for supporting provision of comprehensive health services for women in Nigeria.

Director, Policy and Advocacy at Population Action International (PAI,) Mr Jonathan Rucks, speaking at the virtual training for media practitioners on “Global Gag Rule Rescindment: Implications and Next Steps” by IPAS in collaboration with PAI stated that the four years of US President Donald Trump’s administration global gag rule had globally led to increase in the cases of unsafe abortion and poor health of women.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/healthcare-givers-free-to-access-global-funding-with-gag-rule-repeal-pai/