This plan that I discussed two weeks ago has remained in the news and this week MalariaWorld reports that Burkina Faso says no to Bill Gates’ plan of creating modified species of mosquitos. The linked article by Chinedu Okafor in Business Insider Africa has some interesting insights. The Ibrahim Traore led government has ordered the suspension of the Target Malaria program led by Bill Gates that aimed to mitigate malaria spread through the release of genetically engineered mosquitos. The government announced the destruction of all related samples in the country in accordance with a strict protocol. Criticism of the initiative includes ethical concerns about environmental and ecological implications.
The research began in Burkina Faso in 2019 with the release of a swarm of genetically modified male mosquitos in the hamlet of Bana, a tiny settlement of around 1,000 people in the country’s west. The program was since spread to other locations. Many accuse Target Malaria of worsening the spread of malaria. I expressed my scepticism that the program could have any effect, positive or negative, based on basic evolutionary principles in my earlier column.
What is most encouraging is that the main reason for its cancellation is the scepticism of Burkina Faso’s government for the scientific neo-colonial schemes of Western-backed NGOs. Since coming to power in 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s administration has increasingly sought to limit foreign involvement in domestic policy, particularly projects tied to high-profile Western philanthropists such as Bill Gates. Bill Gates promotes himself as an expert on malaria in a column highlighted in MalariaWorld this week that heavily promotes CDC and the mosquito malaria transmission hypothesis.
Officials in Burkina Faso state that they need “locally developed, safer alternatives” rather than experimental technologies imposed from abroad. The suspension also aligns with the military government’s populist agenda, which often portrays Western-funded initiatives as undermining sovereignty.
Let us hope that this attitude to seek locally developed safer alternatives spreads throughout Africa and to other, more harmful experimental technologies imposed from abroad. I have frequently highlighted (and here, here, here, here and here) that many African countries are introducing the experimental malaria vaccines R21/Matrix-M and RTS, S/AS01 and injecting their babies with them. These vaccines were never tested for safety and efficacy against a true placebo. All we know is that they are no more toxic than Rabies vaccines. In normal practice Rabies vaccines are not given to anyone unless they have been bitten by a rabid dog (I will leave the discussion of how real rabies is for others to address). Sadly, many African governments allow their infants to be dosed with these poorly tested potions four times at 6, 7, 8, and 18 months.