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The Trump Administration took a cruel and ideologically driven decision to destroy $10 million worth of life-saving contraceptives - resources that were procured by U.S. taxpayer funds to support critical health needs in partner countries across the Global South, including those of 218 million women facing an unmet need for contraceptive care. This is an intentional act of reproductive coercion. Pallets of contraceptives sit unused in warehouse in Geel, Belgium—awaiting destruction.  Together with IPPF Member Associations in Belgium, Sensoa and FLCPF, we organised a protest action against the planned destruction of contraceptives stored in Geel and the refusal to sell them to Belgium or to anyone else. IPPF offered to take the stocks for redistribution at no cost to the US taxpayer, but this offer was declined.  Read below the speech made by Micah Grzywnowicz, Regional Director, IPPF European Network. "We are here today because we believe in a world where every woman and every girl has the right to decide about her own body, her own health, and her own future. We are here today because we want to see a world where sexual and reproductive health and rights for all are the norm, and not an exception that needs to be negotiated over and over again. We are here today because we want to live in a world where care, dignity, and freedom are the foundation of our shared humanity. But today, that world is under direct attack. The Trump Administration plans to burn millions of euros worth of essential contraceptives — supplies meant for women and girls who need them most, including in countries already facing humanitarian crises. 77% of these life-saving products were destined for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mali. In Tanzania alone, they account for one third of the country’s total annual need of the health system. Translating it into people – this destruction would deny almost 1.5 million women and girls across affected countries access to care that could save their lives. Make no mistake: this is not an accident; this is not a bureaucratic oversight. This action is deliberate and it is a part of a long-term game of dismantling global public health efforts. It is about control – control of our bodies, our health, and our choices and decisions about our lives. Delaying essential care, blocking supplies, and sowing confusion is intentional and the final decision to destroy these live-saving contraceptives by the Trump Administration is an ideological attack, executed in the name of ultra-conservative politics. IPPF offered to take the stocks for redistribution at no cost to the US taxpayer, but this offer was declined.  It is a blunt disregard for the rights and well-being of women and girls. We call on the U.S. Administration to immediately stop this senseless destruction. We call on the European Union and European countries to stand firm and act to stop this reckless, harmful, and cruel action. We call on the European Union to stand up for its values and commitments to women’s freedom everywhere. This is the moment for the European Commission to show leadership: rally Member States, mediate with the U.S., and explore all legal and diplomatic avenues to stop essential supplies from being wasted. Because our collective response must be stronger than their vicious attack. We know what is at stake: lives, futures, dignity. We also know our power. Our movement is global, connected, and unbreakable. We have fought before — for reproductive freedom, for justice, for care. Now, we will stand together, we will fight, and we will win. Because this is the right thing to do. Because this is the smart thing to do. Because everyone deserves the right to choose whether and when to have children, to live freely, to love openly, be who they are, and to raise children in a world that teaches safe, healthy, and happy relationships. We are not going anywhere and I hope you will join us!"