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Getahun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today condemned the U.S. government’s plan to destroy $9.7 million worth of contraceptives, calling the decision a “callous waste” with “devastating consequences” for communities in need.
In a statement sent on July 24, MSF expressed significant concern following the U.S. government’s recent USAID funding cuts on family planning and reproductive health programs. MSF said these cuts have led to the cessation of contraceptive purchases, including implants, oral contraceptive pills, injectable contraceptives, and IUDs, that were previously made with U.S. tax dollars.
According to MSF, this defunding decision will impact contraceptive access in areas where it operates, especially for communities already struggling with conflict, disease outbreaks, disasters, or healthcare exclusion. Regions that previously depended on USAID-funded contraceptive supplies now face a heightened risk of supply chain disruptions and stockouts, it said.
The US government’s decision to incinerate millions of dollars’ worth of contraceptives is an intentionally reckless and harmful act against women and girls everywhere,” said Avril Benoît, CEO of MSF USA.
MSF also stated that contraceptive supplies face destruction despite their viability. Citing reports, MSF said that up to $40 million worth of US taxpayer-funded contraceptive supplies are stuck in supply chains, for example, in Belgium. These supplies are slated for destruction by the end of July, despite being in good condition and well within their expiration dates, some as late as 2031. MSF also mentioned another warehouse in the UAE with an unknown fate.
MSF urged the US government to provide transparency regarding the extent of these warehoused supplies and the justification for their destruction.
“Access to contraception is crucial to women and girls’ health, autonomy, and self-determination. We cannot minimize its importance,” said Rachel Milkovich, senior policy and advocacy specialist for MSF USA.
The statement went on to say that a global health crisis is being made worse by the US government’s recent decision to destroy contraceptives after cutting off billions of dollars in foreign aid earlier. MSF claims that this action is similar to other alarming actions, like burning 500 tons of emergency food that had been put on hold for months while children in places like Sudan and Gaza suffer from malnutrition, and allowing almost 800,000 mpox vaccines to expire in ongoing outbreaks.
Citing media reports, MSF said that destroying a large shipment of contraceptives currently held in a Belgian warehouse alone will cost at least an additional $167,000.
MSF further said that it does not accept US government funding, but in many countries its teams support in the final step of administering contraceptives that have been provided to Ministries of Health. “Shortages of these supplies from national government stocks will create gaps that MSF teams will not be able to fill,” it added.
MSF also underlined that the withdrawal of US government funding for USAID family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) is severely disrupting global services. It added that as the largest bilateral donor, contributing $607.5 million in FY2024, the US withdrawal jeopardizes significant progress in women and girls’ health worldwide.
Edited by Dimetros Birku
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