Belgium asks US not to destroy millions in contraceptives bound for Africa

The Trump medication has confirmed it plans to destruct the already purchased supplies, preventing their distribution.

Belgium has called connected the medication of United States President Donald Trump to wantonness a plan to destroy a monolithic stockpile of contraceptives for women arsenic portion of its rollback connected overseas aid.

In an interrogation connected Friday, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the stockpile was mostly bound for sub-Saharan Africa.

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The Trump medication confirmed past period that it planned to destruct the supplies, which are unexpired and had been purchased by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) nether erstwhile President Joe Biden.

“We proceed done diplomatic channels to vigorously advocator against specified waste,” Prevot told the Agence France Presse (AFP) quality agency.

The stockpile is estimated to beryllium worthy astir $10m. It includes implants and intrauterine devices, agelong cornerstones for the humanitarian community’s commencement power drives.

Prevot said a information of the supplies had already been moved from their archetypal warehouse and were being kept successful mediocre retention conditions.

The Belgian diplomat besides doused reports that suggested the contraceptives had been sent to France for incineration.

“Whether present astatine the US Embassy oregon straight successful Washington, we person intervened to say, ‘OK, you are changing your policy. We regret it, but delight astatine slightest let what has already been purchased to scope the due recipients,'” helium said.

For its part, Flanders, the self-governing, Dutch-speaking bluish information of Belgium, told the Reuters quality bureau that the contraceptives are presently being stored successful a warehouse successful Geel, a municipality successful the state of Antwerp.

Even if the supplies were sent to different country, they could not beryllium incinerated without a “formal derogation” from the region’s prohibition connected destroying aesculapian waste, the Flemish spokesperson explained.

“To date, we person not received immoderate specified request,” the spokesperson said, adding the Flemish authorities was unfastened to engaging with US authorities connected the matter.

The Trump medication has overseen a monolithic overhaul of US overseas assistance since taking bureau successful January. That has included dismantling USAID and cleaving billions of dollars successful humanitarian funding.

As a effect of the US assistance cuts, humanitarian organisations and United Nations officials person warned of shortages successful captious supplies utilized to code hunger, staunch illness and forestall unwanted pregnancies.

Earlier this week, a national justice blocked the Trump medication from allowing $4.9bn successful congressionally approved assistance backing to expire without being spent.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies