Activists stage symbolic break-in at warehouse holding contraceptive stockpile
Medical and human rights organisations have staged a symbolic raid on a Belgian warehouse holding millions of contraceptives. The supplies, intended for developing countries, are likely to be destroyed following the closure of the USAID programme
News of the millions of condoms, contraceptive pills and HIV medication being held at the Belgian warehouse came to light last summer after an investigation by The Washington Post.
It emerged that 12 million USD worth of contraceptives, bought by the US government and intended for developing countries, might be destroyed after president Donald Trump decided that the operations of the US development agency USAID needed to be overhauled.
Discussions between aid organisations and the US government failed to produce a solution. The supplies are now approaching their expiry date. In total, there are 26 million condoms, millions of packs of oral contraceptives and hundreds of thousands of implantable contraceptives in Geel. There are also 2 million doses of injectable contraceptives and 50,000 vials of medication for HIV prevention.
USAID, and by extension the US government, cannot or will not give the supplies away for free, and no suitable buyers were found, so they are likely to be destroyed.
"We demand that these containers be shipped as soon as possible to regions where they will make a vital difference"
“Together with other humanitarian organisations, we have exhausted every possible means to prevent the destruction and secure the release,” said the organisers of Tuesday’s action, which included members of Amnesty International and Medecins du Monde.
Shortly after midday, around 20 activists turned up at the Kuehne+Nagel warehouses in Geel. They briefly gathered at the entrance gates of the Swiss logistics company, wearing pink balaclavas and carrying fake crowbars, and dispersed before security could call police.
“The current political inaction is unacceptable,” says Julie Capoulade of Amnesty International Belgium. “Having exhausted all legal and diplomatic avenues, we have taken action today. We demand that these containers be shipped as soon as possible to regions where they will make a vital difference.”
Capoulade says six formal notices have been sent to the Belgian government, alongside proposals to buy the stocks. “Countless attempts at negotiation have been made with French, Belgian and American authorities,” she said. “They must take responsibility and block the illegal destruction of these supplies.”
It is unlikely that the supplies can be saved. French doctors from Medecins du Monde fear the bulk of the condoms have already been taken to a site in the port of Antwerp to be destroyed. Because the supplies are being stored in uncontrolled conditions, they may already be unusable.
#FlandersNewsService | A protest outside the American embassy in Brussels in September 2025 against the destruction of millions of euros worth of contraceptives stored in Belgium © BELGA PHOTO MATEUSZ KUKULKA
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