Burkina Faso’s military government under Ibrahim Traoré has ordered the immediate halt of an initiative backed by US billionaire Bill Gates to employ genetically modified insects to cure malaria and other mosquito-borne ailments.
- Burkina Faso’s military government has ordered the suspension of the Target Malaria program led by Bill Gates.
- The program aimed to mitigate malaria spread through the release of genetically engineered mosquitoes.
- The government announced the destruction of all related samples in the country.
- Criticism of the initiative includes ethical concerns about environmental and ecological implications.
In a statement published on Friday, officials urged Target Malaria, the initiative’s principal NGO, to halt “all activities” in the nation.
“All samples will be destroyed according to a strict protocol,” Samuel Pare, chief official at the higher education and research ministry, said in a Friday statement.
The move is part of a larger crackdown on foreign-backed NGOs functioning under the present junta.
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The research, which began in Burkina Faso in 2019, released its first swarm of genetically modified male mosquitoes in the hamlet of Bana, a tiny settlement of around 1,000 people in the country’s west.
These mosquitoes were developed to limit the reproductive rate of malaria-carrying female mosquitoes, with the long-term objective of reducing the transmission of the illness that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year in Africa.
Since its first release, the program has expanded its study to other locations, most recently unleashing new batches of mutated mosquitoes only days before the government’s abrupt order to suspend operations.
As reported by Bloomberg, campaigns in Africa accuse Target Malaria researchers of worsening the spread.
Egountchi Behanzin, a French-Togolese activist who frequently publishes pro-Russian statements online, declared on X that the halting of the project “financed by Bill Gates and the US Army” was a success.
Target Malaria
Target Malaria brings together scientists, social scientists, and community engagement experts from Africa, Europe, and North America, aiming to reduce malaria transmission using genetic technologies.
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The consortium has longstanding partnerships in Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, and complementary ecological studies in Ghana.
At its core, Target Malaria is exploring gene drive technology, a method to spread sterilizing traits through mosquito populations, particularly Anopheles species that transmit malaria.
Concerning the program, ethical debates loom large. Some argue that targeting a species, even one as harmful as the malaria mosquito, for extinction raises profound ecological and moral questions.
“This technology is highly controversial and poses ethical challenges. We are saying that we should prioritize safe alternatives,” said Ali Tapsoba, spokesperson for a coalition against the project.
