As many as 20 additional truckloads of U.S.-purchased contraceptives may be going to waste

Global health advocates and reporters have for months now been tracking the story of a stockpile of contraceptives purchased with American tax dollars and valued at $9.7 million, only to be set for incineration by the United States government. Originally procured by the U.S. Agency for International Development for distribution in low- and middle-income countries, the health supplies — including intrauterine devices, implants, and pills — have been in limbo since earlier this year, when the federal government dismantled the agency broadly and family planning programs specifically. 

With the U.S. refusing to sell the goods to nongovernmental organizations that offered to buy them, the contraceptives were stored in a warehouse in Geel, Belgium. The products were said to have expiration dates no earlier than 2027, with many usable until 2031. The reportedly $167,000 plan — another cost to taxpayers — to incinerate the stock rather than distribute the supplies to users who needed them roiled not only family planning advocates but also environmentalists concerned about the waste and carbon emissions involved in burning so many functional medical items. 

Now, the New York Times has reported that while four truckloads of contraceptives appear still to be in the Geel warehouse, another 20 truckloads were sent to nearby Kallo, where the products were "stored incorrectly," and are no longer usable. If true — the ongoing saga has seen corrections before — the waste concerns have been multiplied considerably. 

And the loss of long-acting reversible contraceptives may result in ripple effects of particular concern for climate-conscious reproductive rights advocates. LARCs could be a preferred method for users vulnerable to extreme weather events that might disrupt access to short-acting methods that need to be procured more frequently.

Still, there may be something to salvage from this loss.

"The medicines in the 20 relocated shipments, due to non-compliant storage, cannot be brought back into circulation," the Flemish minister of the environment, Jo Brouns, wrote in published official remarks, per National Public Radio. "On the other hand, the medical devices in these shipments, such as syringes for injected contraceptives, are still eligible for reuse — provided the other pharmaceutical requirements are met."

The headline-grabbing 20-foot-tall inflatable IUD known as Freeda Womb was in Belgium last week to back the effort to save the initially reported $9.7M stockpile — ostensibly still in existence and usable despite earlier statements from a USAID spokesperson. And it's possible that recent reporting on the additional 20 truckloads of wasted supplies may help to amplify public concern and strengthen political will to preserve the products and distribute them as originally intended. 

The Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition has previously estimated that destroying these contraceptives could result in 362,000 unintended pregnancies, 161,000 unplanned births, 110,000 unsafe abortions, and 718 preventable maternal deaths. Of note, many of the products may also be used for purposes other than pregnancy prevention, such as in the management of heavy menstrual bleeding.