During a signing ceremony on Wednesday for the Laken Riley Act, President Donald Trump stated that his administration had "identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas." This claim was echoed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who asserted during her first press briefing on Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Management and Budget had identified approximately $50 million in taxpayer funds that were about to be allocated for condoms in Gaza. Leavitt labeled this alleged funding a "preposterous waste" of taxpayer money. However, there is a lack of credible evidence supporting these assertions.
Trump and Leavitt seem to have been referring to a grant of $102.2 million awarded by USAID to the International Medical Corps (IMC) aimed at providing medical and trauma services in Gaza. The State Department, in a statement earlier on the same day, described this funding as an example of "egregious funding" that did not align with American interests or the president's policies.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced on X that the agency had "prevented $102 million in unjustified funding to a contractor in Gaza, including money for contraception," thanks to a pause in foreign assistance. The Trump administration reportedly halted two $50 million allocations of aid for Gaza through the IMC, which would have included programs for family planning, sexual healthcare, and adolescent sexual reproductive health, that encompassed contraceptives and emergency contraception.
It is important to note that according to the IMC, "No US government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms, nor provide family-planning services." The organization clarified that they had received $68,078,508 from USAID to support operations in Gaza since October 7, 2023. These funds were utilized to operate two large field hospitals in central Gaza, providing essential medical care to civilians. The IMC reported that these facilities currently offer more than 250 beds and have catered to about 33,000 civilians monthly, extending care to over 383,000 individuals without access to other medical services.
In reference to the claims made by Trump and Leavitt, Jeremy Konyndyk, President of Refugees International and former overseer of USAID’s COVID-19 assistance portfolio for the Biden administration, countered their statements. Konyndyk highlighted that USAID procures condoms at approximately $0.05 each, meaning that $50 million would equate to a staggering one billion condoms. He speculated that there might be an inability among some officials to interpret government financial spreadsheets accurately.
According to USAID's latest report for financial year 2023, the only Middle Eastern country to receive contraceptive shipments was Jordan, which received a mere $45,680 worth of injectables and oral contraceptives strictly for government programs, marking the agency's first shipment to the region since 2019. Reports from 2024 indicate that USAID's family planning programs in the Middle East were limited to Jordan and Yemen.
