Doctors Without Borders Deplores Destroying Contraceptives
Ordered by the United States
HAVANA TIMES – The US government’s plan to destroy $9.7 million worth of contraceptives is an insensitive act and a waste that puts the health and lives of women and girls at risk, the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders denounced on Monday the 28th.
According to reports obtained by Doctors Without Borders, the supplies were stored in Belgium and ready to be shipped to fragile or conflict-affected regions, but are now being sent to neighboring France, where a specialized firm will incinerate them at a cost of $167,000.
This is happening “despite the fact that they are still in good condition and within their expiration dates. The earliest expiration date is in 2027, and many won’t expire until 2031,” said an MSF report from its office in this Swiss city.
Avril Benoît, executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the United States, stated that “the government’s decision to incinerate millions of dollars’ worth of contraceptives is a deliberately irresponsible and harmful act against women and girls around the world.”
“Contraceptives are essential, life-saving health products,” she emphasized.
The contraceptives — including implants, birth control pills, injections, and intrauterine devices (IUDs) to prevent unwanted pregnancies — were acquired for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s family planning and reproductive health programs.
These programs were suspended after the US government decided to withdraw its funding earlier this year, compounded by its hostility toward policies it perceives as supportive of abortion rights.
“We must remember that these contraceptives had a designated purpose. Women and girls were expecting to use them. It is inconceivable to think that these medical products will be incinerated when there is such an urgent global demand,” said Rachel Milkovich, Doctors Without Borders policy and advocacy specialist.
The organization “has seen firsthand the benefits when women and girls can freely make decisions about their health by choosing to prevent or delay pregnancy, and the dangerous consequences when they cannot,” said Milkovich.
According to consistent reports, Washington rejected offers from family planning organizations to buy or distribute the contraceptives to poor nations, as well as a proposal from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prevent their destruction, including temporarily relocating the supplies.
Doctors Without Borders stated that its teams in many countries are concerned about the shortage of such supplies.
“In the communities we serve — affected by conflict, epidemics, natural or man-made disasters, or exclusion from the healthcare system — access to contraceptives is already limited,” the report noted.
The organization notes that “the imminent destruction of these contraceptives is the latest in a series of actions by the US government that worsen a global health emergency caused by the sudden suspension of billions of dollars in international aid earlier this year.”
The report also indicated that $40 million worth of contraceptives are being held at various points along the global health supply chain. Another warehouse containing contraceptives purchased by USAID is located in the United Arab Emirates, and Doctors Without Borders is unaware of the US government’s plans for those supplies.
Benoît stated that “destroying valuable medical supplies, already paid for by taxpayers, does not help reduce waste or improve efficiency,” in reference to slogans promoted by President Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign and after taking office this past January.
“This administration is willing to let food aid rot and burn contraceptives, putting people’s health and lives at risk to push a political agenda,” Benoît criticized.