NGO warns US incineration of contraceptives deprives 1.4 million African women and girls of lifesaving care

NGO warns US incineration of contraceptives deprives 1.4 million African women and girls of lifesaving care

Destruction of $9.7m in U.S.-Funded Contraceptives Poised to Trigger 174,000 Unintended Pregnancies and 56,000 Unsafe Abortions, IPPF Warns.

A recent directive by the U.S. government to burn more than $9.7 million worth of contraceptives is forecast to produce 174,000 unintended pregnancies and 56,000 unsafe abortions across five African nations, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) cautions. These supplies, already manufactured and packaged for delivery, will instead be consigned to incineration, despite remaining usable until 2027–29.

According to IPPF’s analysis, 77 percent of the stockpile was earmarked for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mali. Once destroyed, these commodities will leave over 1.4 million women and girls without access to essential reproductive healthcare in regions where family-planning options are already scarce.

Marie Evelyne Petrus-Barry, IPPF’s Regional Director for Africa, condemned the decision as “appalling and a huge waste.” She emphasized that many of the incinerated items formed part of critical humanitarian responses—particularly in the DRC—and that discarding them cannot be justified when they remain in good condition.

In Tanzania alone, more than one million doses of injectable contraceptives and 365,100 implants—equal to 28 percent of the country’s annual implant requirement—were slated for distribution. Dr. Bakari, project coordinator at Umati (an IPPF affiliate in Tanzania), warned that previous cuts to USAID funding had already gutted the availability of long-acting methods, forcing clients to forgo family-planning services.

Mali faces the loss of 1.2 million oral contraceptive packs and 95,800 implants, amounting to 24 percent of its yearly implant needs. Zambian facilities will miss out on 48,400 implants and 295,000 injectable units, while Kenyan providers will be unable to offer 108,000 implant insertions.

Nelly Munyasia, executive director of Kenya’s Reproductive Health Network, described the situation as dire. She reported that stocks of long-acting methods are depleted, health-worker training standards are slipping, and the national family-planning budget carries a 46 percent shortfall—all exacerbating women’s vulnerability.

Kenya’s pressing need is underscored by statistics showing that nearly one in five girls aged 15–19 is already pregnant or has given birth. Unsafe abortions rank among the top five causes of maternal mortality in the country. Although the 2010 Kenyan Constitution permits abortion to protect a woman’s life or health, a 1963 penal code criminalizes the procedure, leaving medical professionals hesitant to provide care even in emergencies.

IPPF warns that without these contraceptive supplies, maternal deaths will climb as women resort to unsafe termination methods. The organization’s estimates suggest that each destroyed implant or injectable represents a missed opportunity to prevent high-risk pregnancies and associated complications.

Last month, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed that the decision to incinerate the contraceptives was final. Reports surfaced that the stocks would be burned at a medical-waste facility in France, prompting the French government to monitor the situation closely after advocacy groups raised alarms.

According to the spokesperson, the incineration became necessary because U.S. law prohibits the sale or donation of taxpayer-funded aid to any entity that provides or promotes abortion services abroad. Despite IPPF’s offer to redistribute the contraceptives at no cost to U.S. taxpayers, legal constraints prevented a transfer to humanitarian partners such as the UN or family-planning NGOs.

Critics argue that the move undermines decades of progress in global reproductive health. They point out that in a typical year, U.S. family-planning aid averts 8.1 million unintended pregnancies, 5.2 million unsafe abortions, and 34,000 maternal deaths worldwide. Destroying ready-to-use products when demand outstrips supply represents a significant setback to these gains.

Humanitarian organizations and lawmakers in both the U.S. and France have called for last-minute interventions to halt the incineration. Bills introduced in Congress aim to prohibit the destruction of contraceptive stocks, though their passage appears unlikely before the scheduled disposal date.

Meanwhile, IPPF and other advocacy groups continue to press for policy changes that would allow the reallocation of these life-saving commodities to low-resource settings. They urge the U.S. administration to reconcile domestic legal restrictions with its stated commitment to reducing maternal mortality and supporting reproductive rights globally.