Could the US Really be Sending $50 Million Worth of Condoms to Gaza, as Trump Claims?
US

Could the US Really be Sending $50 Million Worth of Condoms to Gaza, as Trump Claims?

  • President Donald Trump claimed his administration stopped $50m in bomb-making condoms from being sent to Gaza, though no evidence supports this assertion
  • The International Medical Corps and USAID reports refute the claim, suggesting possible confusion with another Gaza
  • The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in Mozambique received funding for reproductive health projects in a province named Gaza

In a move that left many scratching their heads, United States President Donald Trump boasted that his administration had halted the shipment of $50m worth of bomb-making condoms to Gaza.

According to Al Jazeera, Trump provided no evidence for his claims that condoms were being sent to Gaza or that Hamas was using contraceptives to make bombs, leaving many people wondering what the US president was talking about.

Could the US Really be Sending $50 Million Worth of Condoms to Gaza, as Trump Claims?
Could the US Really be Sending $50 Million Worth of Condoms to Gaza, as Trump Claims?
Source: Getty Images

Trump's contraceptive claim

Trump made the contraceptive claim while listing his administration’s accomplishments since coming into office.

“We identified and stopped $50m being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas,” Trump said on December 29. “They used them as a method of making bombs. How about that?”

Read also

Trump to transfer undocumented immigrants to prison outside US

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made a similar claim, stating that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found that $50m was about to be spent on condoms in Gaza, calling it a “preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”

Refutation and evidence

Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk refuted Trump’s and Leavitt’s claims as unrealistic, stating that $50m would equate to one billion condoms.

There is no publicly available evidence of plans for millions of taxpayer dollars to be spent on funding condoms in Gaza. The International Medical Corps (IMC), which received US money to provide medical care in Gaza, stated that no US government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms. Reports from USAID also do not show any record of condoms shipped to Gaza.

Possible confusion

It is possible that Trump and his administration were referring to a different Gaza, as there are more than a dozen places in the world named Gaza, including two communities in the United States.

Read also

Trump reverses executive order on ban of emergency HIV treatment funding to poor countries

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in Mozambique received more than $83m in funding for reproductive health projects in two of the country’s provinces, including Gaza.

Trump reverses ban of emergency HIV treatment

Legit.ng reported that the Trump administration has issued an emergency waiver to ensure that millions of people living with HIV across 55 countries continue receiving life-saving treatment.

This is coming days after US President Donald Trump halted the financial support for HIV treatment in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday, January 27, that the emergency waiver guaranteed that funding from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) would flow uninterrupted, despite a broader 90-day suspension of US foreign development assistance.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.

Tags: