Contradictory statements suggesting the US incinerated $9.7m (£7.4m; €8.4m) worth of contraceptives intended mostly for low income countries in Africa have sparked anger and confusion.
The New York Times reported on 11 September that a spokesperson for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Rachel Cauley, had confirmed that contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices, and hormonal implants had been destroyed.1 But when Belgian authorities searched the warehouse in Geel in northern Belgium on 12 September to confirm the reports, they found that the supplies remained untouched.
“Local teams carried out inspections this morning and found that no cargoes had been diverted for incineration,” Tom Demeyer, a spokesman for the Flemish environment minister, Jo Brouns, told The New York Times.2 Brouns had ordered the search following the reports …
