Trump’s $50M Gaza condoms claim debunked

US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US spent $50 million on condoms for the Gaza Strip has been refuted. New reports indicate that the funds were more likely directed to Gaza Province in Mozambique, some 7,200 km away.

Trump had previously claimed that the Biden administration funded the purchase of condoms for Gaza, which he alleged were being used by Hamas to create bombs. His statement sparked immediate controversy and confusion, with questions arising over how such a claim could have been made.

Upon closer inspection, it appears that Trump’s statement may have stemmed from a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of aid programs. Gaza Province in Mozambique, a rural region with over one million residents, has indeed received aid for contraceptive programs, specifically through the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. US records show that since 2021, the foundation has been allocated over $83 million for reproductive health projects in Mozambique, including in Gaza and Inhambane provinces.

The confusion appears to lie in the sharing of the name “Gaza” between the Palestinian region and Mozambique’s province. While the funding for Mozambique’s Gaza Province is well-documented, no US-funded condoms have been sent to Gaza in Palestine since 2019, according to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Relief agencies and health experts have repeatedly debunked Trump’s claim. USAID, for instance, confirms that its last shipment to the Middle East was in 2023, involving injectable and oral contraceptives sent to Jordan—not Gaza. The International Medical Corps, which received $68 million in USAID funds for Gaza since October 2023, also confirmed that no funding was directed toward the purchase or distribution of condoms.

Matthew Kavanagh, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, criticized Trump’s statement, calling it a “mischaracterization” of health grants. Other experts have suggested that Trump’s administration misused or misunderstood the data to justify cuts to foreign aid, with Jeremy Konyndyk of Refugees International mocking the apparent confusion over government spreadsheets.

Since returning to office on 20 January, Trump has ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign assistance, emphasizing policies against abortion and transgender rights. His government has frozen nearly all foreign aid, with exceptions for emergency food assistance and military aid to Egypt and Israel.

Despite the lack of evidence for his claims about Gaza, Trump’s statement continues to stir debate as part of the broader controversy surrounding his administration’s stance on foreign aid.

Scroll to Top