Aid organizations have been in talks about taking control of the contraceptives and HIV prevention medication, but those negotiations have stalled amid shifting directives from the government, a Post examination found.
More than $12 million worth of contraceptives and HIV-prevention medications purchased by the U.S. government as aid for developing countries under programs thathavesince been discontinued will probably be destroyedunless officials sell or otherwise off-load them, an examination by The Washington Post found.
Government records obtained by The Post reveal that virtually all of the supplies have been sitting indistribution centers — one in Belgium and one in the United Arab Emirates — since January, when President Donald Trump halted spending by the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying it was “not aligned with American interests.” Much of the material is already closer to expiration than many countries would typically accept.
International humanitarian groups and other organizations have been in talks with government representatives abouttaking control of the products and distributing them, people with knowledge of the matter said. But negotiations have stalled amid shifting directives from the agency’s political leadership, including demands that the groups pay for the materials and that any USAID labeling be removed, according to individuals familiar with the talks. They were among nine officials or others interviewed for this report who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private matters or because they feared retaliation.
“The mandate that [the USAID negotiator] has been given is ‘get us money for it,’” said one person with knowledge of the talks. “‘And if you can’t do that, we’re just going to trash it.’” MORE