From Rafah to Paris, Fadel Afana's journey as a psychiatrist in exile
This professional opportunity, which he says he is "extremely grateful to benefit from, with [his] wife and [his] two daughters," was made possible by the national program for the emergency reception of scientists and artists in exile (PAUSE), created within the Collège de France in 2017, with financial and logistical support from the Paris Neuroscience Foundation (FNP). On April 25, "16 other beneficiaries from Gaza and their families, who had been blocked for a year by the closure of the border between Egypt and Gaza, landed in France," said Laura Lohéac, director of the program. As the defense of science is at the center of global geopolitical news, "the nationalities of exiled candidates reflect the map of conflicts and manifestations of authoritarian regimes," she described. "After Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, our program gradually opened to sub-Saharan Africa, South America, before receiving people from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and then Palestine starting in 2021."
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LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy
France said Friday, August 1, it could not seize women's contraception products estimated to be worth $9.7 million that the United States plans to destroy, after media reported the stockpile would be incinerated in the country. The contraceptives – intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden. But France's health ministry told Agence France-Presse Friday there was no legal way for it to intervene. The administration of Biden's successor Donald Trump, which has slashed USAID and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed last month it planned to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel. According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste. France's government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women's rights groups calling the US decision "insane." The health ministry told AFP that the government had "examined the courses of action available to us, but unfortunately there is no legal basis for intervention by a European health authority, let alone the French national drug safety authority, to recover these medical products. Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks." The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed. Leaving Belgian warehouse Sarah Durocher, head of the French women's rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives had already left the Belgian warehouse. "We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun," Durocher said Thursday. "We do not know where these trucks are now – or whether they have arrived in France," she added. "We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision." French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it had a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider. But Veolia emphasized that the contract concerned "only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium. The products, mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring. Outrage over decision The US decision has provoked an outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their government to stop the plan. "France cannot allow itself to become the stage for such actions. A moratorium is necessary," wrote five NGOs in an op-ed in Le Monde, condemning the "absurdity" of the US decision. Among them was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government. All offers have been rejected. Last week, New Hampshire's Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse." A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The spokesperson pointed to a policy that prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that perform or promote abortions. The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the "global gag rule," was first introduced by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It has been reinstated under every Republican president since. Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.
LeMonde
7 hours ago
- LeMonde
Contraceptives destroyed in silence: 'Can France accept to become the executor of a senseless policy imposed by the US?'
A stockpile of several million doses of contraceptives, valued at $9.7 million, financed by USAID and usable until 2031, is currently being incinerated in France. These products, originally intended for women in extreme poverty in countries in the Global South, are being destroyed for purely ideological reasons, at the request of the Trump administration. The service provider tasked with the incineration has not yet been identified. This human and environmental waste must be stopped immediately. Why is this happening? Because the US administration, following a blinkered ideological agenda, ordered their destruction as part of the dismantling of USAID. It even refused to transfer the stock to NGOs who were ready to transport and distribute it. This is not a public health issue or a logistical problem. It is a radical political choice. USAID's logistics program, which is usually operated by the company Chemonics, appears to be linked to this operation. However, this cannot be confirmed, since neither the name of the logistics provider nor the name of the incinerator has been made public. The stock, which was previously stored in Belgium, was transported to France in about 10 trucks at the end of July. The exact location of the incineration is deliberately undisclosed. Despite the scale of the operation, the company responsible for handling the medical waste has not been identified. We contacted four major French waste management companies to ask whether they were involved in this operation. All replied that they were not concerned. An economic and environmental absurdity As NGOs active in several African countries, we know exactly what a contraceptive shortage means: unintended pregnancies, abandoned children, unsafe abortions, and girls forced out of school at age 12. It also means women trapped in unwanted motherhood. Can France accept to become the executor of a senseless policy imposed by the US without reaction? This destruction is also an economic and environmental absurdity. It costs more ($167,000) than it would to redistribute contraceptives to countries experiencing shortages. Eliminating usable products that are urgently needed in empty health centers will also generate metric tons of CO₂. It's a total waste.
Local France
a day ago
- Local France
What's going on with France's Lumpy Skin Disease outbreak?
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