US-funded Contraceptives for poor nations to be Burned Despite Offers from NGOs

July 23 (Reuters) - U.S.-funded contraceptives worth nearly $10 million are being sent to France from Belgium to be incinerated, after Washington rejected offers from the United Nations and family planning organisations to buy or ship the supplies to poor nations.

The supplies have been stuck for months in a warehouse in Geel, a city in the Belgian province of Antwerp, following President Donald Trump's decision to freeze U.S. foreign aid in January.

They comprise contraceptive implants and pills as well as intrauterine devices to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, according to seven sources and a screengrab shared by an eighth source confirming the planned destruction.

The U.S. government will spend $160,000 to incinerate the stocks at a facility in France that handles medical waste, according to four of the sources with knowledge of the matter, following Trump's decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the negotiations to save the contraceptives from destruction or the plans to incinerate them.

U.S. lawmakers have introduced two bills this month to prevent the destruction of the supplies but aid groups say the bills are unlikely to be passed in time to stop the incineration.

The Belgian foreign ministry said Brussels had held talks with U.S. authorities and "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction, including temporary relocation."

"Despite these efforts, and with full respect for our partners, no viable alternative could be secured. Nevertheless, Belgium continues to actively seek solutions to avoid this regrettable outcome," it said in a statement shared with Reuters on Tuesday.

"Sexual and reproductive health must not be subject to ideological constraints," it added.

The supplies, worth $9.7 million, are due to expire between April 2027 and September 2031, according to an internal document listing the warehouse stocks and verified by three sources.