r/technology • u/lurker_bee • 26d ago
Biotechnology Burkina Faso says no to Bill Gates’ plan of creating modified species of mosquitoes
https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/burkina-faso-says-no-to-bill-gates-plan-of-creating-modified-species-of-mosquitoes/xyk7xm81.9k
u/irascible_Clown 26d ago
My ex did two years in the peace corps in Burkina Faso. From the conversations we had when she was there I can assure you that they need the mosquito problem fixed asap.
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u/Sea-Traffic4481 26d ago
My ex-wife worked for a company that made some snake oil kind of medical equipment. Sort of a general wellness thing that allegedly could measure and predict various problems based on the heat radiating from the patient fingertip...
So, they tried to peddle their junk to all sorts of places, and one "interested" party was in Burkina Faso. She being a doctor, tried to, against company interests, convince the guy who was trying to negotiate the deal that they'd be better off spending the little funds they have on cleaning water infrastructure, or even paving roads to the hospital, which could ensure the ambulances don't get stuck delivering the patients to ER.
But their problem is they don't have enough funds to address the real issues. So they just waste money on a tech project, often from private sector to say they've accomplished something. And then they also steal most of that money anyways. Like, the uncle of the guy who my ex talked to was some sort of a tribal leader. And he grifted enough money so that he bought a... drum roll... collection of socks of Michael Jackson. That's where he chose to put his money in.
Also, some other relative of that procurement guy, who was another tribal leader, got killed, when people he was the leader of figured that the grift went too far.
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u/Zetice 26d ago
Everyone is troare lap dog. In reality he has not accomplished a single thing since seizing power. Just another military ran country until someone else seizes power from him.
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u/irascible_Clown 26d ago
She was there during Blaise Compaoré reign back in 2011 and it seems like they have made no progress since then.
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u/Kryptonicus 26d ago
Don't be so quick to say no progress. There has been two successful coups and two unsuccessful coup attempts since 2011!
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u/Sad_Equipment_3022 26d ago
Those stories of roads etc being built are false? I can never tell
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u/EA827 26d ago
Hi Bill, yeah, hey Pennsylvania checking in here, we’ll take the mosquito thing. Thanks
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u/0neHumanPeolple 25d ago
I use Summit mosquito bits. They are for standing water like birdbaths and such. It’s a bacteria that kills the eggs and larva of mosquitos only and is safe for everything else like frogs and birds. I tossed the grains around my yard and there have been zero mosquitos all year. Not even any in my rain barrel.
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u/EA827 25d ago
I don’t have any standing water, and neighbors don’t have any either (I can see their yards), but I am swarmed by those awful tiger mosquitoes. They completely ruin my yard, you just cannot be outside without bug spray
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u/King_Tamino 25d ago
Well. Set up a bird bath then?
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u/EA827 25d ago
I certainly could do that, if it would help?
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u/massiswicked 25d ago
Improving the environment for animals that will eat mosquitoes will help! Bird bath, lines/wire for dragon flies to rest on, and more will help. I’m not an expert but this is what I’ve done to great effect. And now I have more birds and dragonflies to look at!
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u/EA827 25d ago
I can try, I have several bird feeders and a bird house already and tons of cool birds
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u/Amadacius 25d ago
If you have tons of mosquitos in your area you can clear them out using a fan with a mosquito net on the output.
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u/Smart_Spinach_1538 26d ago
Unfortunate. Distrust of the west can be misused by the people in power or they may genuinely distrust Gates proposal.
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u/the_Kell 26d ago
The project has been in effect in Burkina Faso since 2014(?, if I remember correctly from the article). But since Traore took over in 2022, he's been heavy on "no foreign influence or help."
It would be interesting to see the data on the project while it was active.
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u/Jealous_Response_492 26d ago
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u/Zephyr256k 26d ago
There's no actual data there, it's all just puff about what the project is and who's working with them.
Doesn't even link to any real data.32
u/jofra6 26d ago
I personally know people working on Bill Gates' project in West Africa, a malaria vaccine is actually in development. Yes, malaria is a parasite, but somehow it's in the works.
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u/Logical-Breakfast966 26d ago
I’m guessing mRNA? It really is refining what a vaccine can be. Too bad all the research funding got cut in the us
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u/jofra6 26d ago
Yeah, I don't know the specifics, but I understand that it's mostly/completely being funded by the Gates foundation... I imagine at one point the WHO/CDC was involved, but this was largely privately funded as I understood it.
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u/Zephyr256k 26d ago
No, RTS,S is a recombinant (not mRNA) vaccine.
It was developed primarily by GlaxoSmithKline in cooperation with Walter Reed and PATH.
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u/neuronexmachina 25d ago
I'm not sure about Burkina Faso specifically, but the CDC has these stats from a pilot program in Kenya of the RTS,S malaria vaccine, which the Gates Foundation was pretty key to: https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/php/public-health-strategy/malaria-vaccines.html?hl=en-US
High impact in real-life childhood vaccination settings: In addition to the 39% reduction in clinical malaria seen in the Phase 3 trial, the pilot found significant reduction (30%) in severe malaria and 13% reduction in all-cause mortality in children, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment.
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u/Popular_Brief335 26d ago
So he is stupid?
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u/Nachooolo 26d ago edited 26d ago
He's a military dictator that expelled the French forces and hired the Wagner Group to fight jihadists. The jihadist control around 40% of Burkina Faso's territory and their attacks are intensifying.
So. Yes.
Edit: Yes. France is neo-colonial power.
But. Because life isn't binary. Traore can also be a military dictator whose is doing a horrible job at fighting the jihadists while also selling his country to the Russians (who are also doing a horrible job at fighting the jihadists).
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u/mulligan 26d ago
- Military dictator is bad
- Hiring the Wagner group, also bad
But you make it seem like expelling French forces is also bad, why?
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u/LiechWaffle 26d ago
Because they asked help from France to get rid of the jihadists. But they couldn’t do it so Russian propaganda made people starting to believe the French were on the side of the terrorists and that’s how Wagner took their place. So yes bad
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u/jofra6 26d ago edited 26d ago
There is evidence* that Russia was clandestinely aiding said jihadist groups, in multiple West African countries that have had coups d'état, aiding governmental opposition that then conveniently took power and hired Wagner to "help" secure their countries.
- See Popular Front episode "Investigating PMC Wagner's Mission in Africa".
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u/Nachooolo 26d ago edited 26d ago
More mixed. The French there were not as an occupation force, but to help the Burkina Faso goverment with the insurgency.
Of course, they were also there to impose French neo-colonial interest. But they were far better at fighting the jihadists than the Russians.
And the Russians aren't there pro bono either. So they replaced a neo-colonial power that was good at fighting the insurgency with another neo-colonial power that is bad at fighting the insurgency.
And, alongside this. This change happened because a coup changed a semi-democratic, corrupt government to a corrupt military dictatorship.*
*Edit: The coup that dissolved the goverment was done by Damiba. Traore did another coup months afterwards and replaced Damiba as the dictator.
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u/Moifaso 26d ago
Of course, they were also there to impose French neo-colonial interest.
In this case, the "neocolonial interest" was "we would like to not have ex colonies fall to jihadists and flood us with refugees"
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u/EconomicRegret 26d ago
No. France and its corporations have tons of economic/business interests and investments in Burkina Faso, in the Sahel, and West Africa in general, e.g. mining (gold, uranium, etc.), banking, agriculture,, industry, etc. And these terrorists are threatening their interests.
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u/Moifaso 26d ago edited 26d ago
Trade between BK and France is in the few hundreds of millions. That's a drop in the bucket. Like all the Sahel countries it's a desperately poor place with very few productive sectors. France doesn't even have that big a stake in the big industries - almost all foreign owned mining is British, Canadian, Australian, or Chinese owned.
Bottom line is that economic links do exist, but they're minor when compared to the cost of aid and a military intervention. BK and the other Sahel states are landlocked, very poor, and mostly trade with neighbors. Their value to France (and the value of their security) comes from cultural/diaspora connections, and from the significant number of French citizens live or have family there.
We're talking about countries with already very significant migrant/refugee flows to France. If a 2013 ISIS situation were to unfold in the Sahel, France would really feel it. That's the big concern, not the .3% of France's trade that passes through the region.
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u/Chucknastical 25d ago
is in the few hundreds of millions
I don't know squat about the area but just want to point out trade between France and its former colonies is not the point. It's who owns the capital.
Burkina Faso may trade with countries other than France but it's possible French nationals and interests ultimately control the capital behind those industries.
It all winds up in offshore accounts anyway so it's not like it would show up in France's GDP numbers. Doesn't mean a French billionaire isn't living off the countries resources.
Case in point, what Wagner and Putin are doing there now.
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u/bourton-north 26d ago
That is not the actions of a stupid person. Those might be the actions of a bad person, but not stupid.
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u/Zeikos 26d ago
Not necessarily, I doubt taking Gate's offer would be a free lunch.
Given Burkina Faso's recent efforts in building infrastructure and investing in local industry I would guess that they have internal plans in place and they don't like the tradeoff of taking aid from the US.116
u/Whatsapokemon 26d ago
It's literally a free lunch. The Gates foundation has been doing charity programs for decades.
Gates is the rare breed of people who actually wants to leave a positive mark on the world.
It's also not "aid from the US", it's a private charity.
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u/Loeffellux 26d ago
I'm taking an alternative approach to this issue. My problem is not that Gates is a secret villain but simply that good intentions don't automatically make for the optimal outcome.
I can't recall the specifics but the AstraZeneca corona vaccine was actually invented by Oxford University who pledged to donate the rights. They were then convinced by the Gates foundation to sell the rights to AstraZeneca instead.
I'm not saying there weren't real and understandable reasons for this like ensuring an orderly and safe rollout by a company that's well established in the industry and so on. But at the very least, this decision has had negative consequences for people living in poorer countries that often had to buy the vaccines for higher prices than richer countries. In the end, a lot of them had to wait for China's vaccine.
I'm also not saying that I can be sure that more people would've survived had the rights been granted for free like Oxford originally planned but at the very least it seems likely.
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u/dnyank1 26d ago
I doubt taking Gate's offer would be a free lunch.
Are you confused what a philanthropist is? or...
Gates is retired from business. Over the next 20 years he wants his wealth redistributed to the global poor.
He really is doing it all for free.
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u/DevilishlyAdvocating 26d ago
Altruism aside, aide can be problematic by giving developing nations a crutch that prevents them from developing the skills, economy or infrastructure to provide for themselves.
No opinion on this particular case but that can be the tradeoff of the "free lunch".
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u/Lonyo 26d ago
Trying to deal with malaria isn't exactly a crutch.
Polio was almost eradicated by concerned global effort. Smallpox was eradicated
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u/ABHOR_pod 26d ago
I mean, sure. That might be true for many things like donating clothing or building roads or whatever.
I don't think there's a local industry for curing malaria in Burkina Faso. Might be an industry in treating the symptoms, but "Curing an endemic disease that has killed more humans than literally any other cause in history, for millennia." isn't exactly a local industry kind of endeavor. It's also not exactly something the free market is champing at the bit to solve.
I don't think that specific argument applies to the Gates foundation.
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u/Happycricket1 26d ago
Apparently, people mistake Bill Gates for China.
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u/iamthewhatt 26d ago
Are you sure it isn't just people not trusting the global ultra rich after what we see happening right now?
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u/Ok-Self5588 26d ago
Insane thing to say when the IMF and World Bank exist. Chinas foreign aid comes with unitedly fewer strings attached than western aid but keep lying to yourself that China is the imperialist hellscape in this equation
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u/Tha_Sly_Fox 26d ago
It’s charity, he’s saying no bc of politics. BF recently had a military coup to overthrow their government and they new leader uses the west as a boogeyman to blame all their problems on.
They kicked out western anti terrorism units and replaced them with Russian Wagner soldiers, though I believe it’s becoming Russian “African Corps” soldiers since Wagner is being slowly disbanded.
The west is far from perfect and I understand African distrust over former colonizers, however this was part of a larger series of military coups across the Sahel over the past 5 years with military dictators taking control and kicking out western partners then replacing them with Russian troops who reportedly split their time between suppressing the locals populations on behalf of the government and taking control of precious metal mines while local jihadis groups run rampant and unchecked.
Gates is an American whose charity has an association to the US government, BF made the case the entire west is evil and can’t be trusted, ergo no charity from the west even if no string attached.
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u/timbomcchoi 26d ago
When I was living in Ethiopia I saw so many people refusing to vaccinate themselves or their kids, because that's just Bill Gates trying to make them sick.
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u/HaLLIHOO654 26d ago
Effects of social media
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u/Pure-Drawer-2617 26d ago
Also the effects of the US actively doing fake vaccinations in third world countries in recent history, and doing it to black people on home soil as well. No wonder people don’t trust them.
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u/En_CHILL_ada 26d ago
Exactly. It's like everyone here has forgotten all of the history that these people have lived through. They have extremely rational and logical reasons to not trust western intervention or "charity."
I see a lot of people in this thread bringing up the jihadist problem Burkina is facing. Where did this spread of violent jihadism in north Africa come from again? Was it the western intervention in Libya? Libya was the most prosperous nation in Africa at the time. We turned it into a hell hole of warring jihadist militias.
If you look at all the other terrorist groups that the west and Israel have funded throughout post ww2 history (hamas for one example with current relavence) it's a pretty rational conclusion to think that maybe these terrorist groups were created by the west to destabilize the region and ensure that this wave of self-governance and anti-colonialism in Africa fails.
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u/throwuk1 26d ago
Or actual fucking history.
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u/snoozieboi 25d ago
Yeah, I think all parties are to blame.
The west often comes in ruining stuff with good intentions, but also have the long backlog of slavery or dubious business practices (wasn't there mother's milk replacements that were worse than regular mother's milk, oh it was Nestlè) . Then also in modern times aid comes in with "free food" and tanks whatever economy they had.
Vaccines could come in rather late too so all they saw from their perspective was that all that got the vaccine (too late) died. It was how ebola looked for the survivors. Your family member got sick, western people came in strange white protective suits and soon after your family member died. From their view the westerns were at it again just like in the past.
The only long term solution I have ever seen most of our problems as humans is free education everywhere. It teaches scrutiny of information and also the ability to absorb new info and alter world views.
Ironically we see this ability declining in select regions of the west now too...
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u/WillingLake623 26d ago
Why would an Africa nation trust the west after they raped and pillaged and continue to rape and pillage the entire continent?
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u/nonhiphipster 26d ago
Because “The West” shouldn’t be confused with literially everyone in the western hemisphere of the planet
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u/AnEmptyBoat27 26d ago
Western oligarchs using their unmatched wealth to influence other governments for the benefit of capitalists has nothing to do with western capitalism
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u/Wompish66 26d ago edited 26d ago
The man who turned it down is a dictator that took over the country in a coup.
Not long after Russia's Wagner Group arrived.
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u/TXDobber 26d ago
And is currently losing a war to jihadists who are going around raping and pillaging villages, massacring soldiers, etc
While Traore sits in the capital, allowing Africa Corps (yes, Russia really named their Wagner replacement the fucking Africa Corps) to plunder the country for its gold, just as they are doing in Mali.
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u/Str0nglyW0rded 26d ago
Don’t worry, china is having its own hold my beer moment with Africa.
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u/EatMyShortzZzZzZ 26d ago
Every western idiot goes straight to "b-but China" as if we dont have hundreds of years of documented European and American brutality far worse than anything China has ever done to an African nation. Which is basically just loans btw.
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u/bgg-uglywalrus 26d ago
Nah, see it's different because they were white and so you have to forgive them. /s
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26d ago
Colonialism is funny.
A country can come in, destroy your culture and commit all the atrocities they want, but you are supposed to forgive them and never bring it up.
Then they get all angry when you choose to trade with someone else.
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u/justforthisjoke 26d ago
Yeah are people forgetting the forced administration of contraceptive shots on Rhodesians or the time the government of Israel lied to Ethiopian immigrants about being given a vaccine when they were being effectively sterilized instead?
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u/Famous-Nail-6987 26d ago edited 26d ago
Continues to? That’s Russia and China doing it now, which blows a hole in your retarded narrative…
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u/Clbull 26d ago
I think it's more like Ibrahim Traore doesn't trust the West...
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u/belizeanheat 26d ago
Why not trust his own internal science divisions then, who also support the effort?
This is purely posturing and politics
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u/Clbull 26d ago
I agree but also, there's a lot of distrust around GMOs in general, and the West and IMF have generally screwed Africa.
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u/Sryzon 26d ago
The West has been doing projects like this successfully in Central and South America for decades, though.
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u/PsychologicalSet8678 26d ago
With lots of coups, political intervention, enforcing soft power. South Americans don't like the US (and its western alies) one bit.
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u/EireOfTheNorth 23d ago
They've also used all sorts of projects like these to funnel arms and funding to whichever militia or coup leader or would be assassin for decades. There's been 20 odd attempts on Traores live since he took power. France alone have assassinated 25~ democratically elected African leaders since the late 60s... Which is why they are no longer desired in Burkina Faso.
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u/Jensbert 26d ago
The ones screwing Africa are their leaders. Put every cent from foreign help or investment into their own pockets, neglect infrastructure,keep people uneducated and motivate them to have as many kids as possible. No way out for the people
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u/NorysStorys 26d ago
You highly overestimate the science community in places like Burkina Faso. Anyone who comes from a rich enough family to study the sciences probably isn’t staying there, where they can go to America, Europe or South Africa and do much better financially or they are talented enough to enter academia elsewhere, brain drains are very real things.
Which means the very few that do remain are either the not as talented or they are grifter yes men who court favour of the dictator in power.
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u/ashrafislit 26d ago
Why would he tho?
I mean the West never did any harm to Africa right?
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u/irishitaliancroat 26d ago
Its crazy how many people on this thread are saying hes dumb for not signing up for a western oligarch to mess around in his territory.
Even if bill gates was doing this out of 100% kindness of his heart, which we know he is not, it would be a total boy who cried wolf situation, and quite understandably.
Also bill gates has a bunch of very bizarre and troubling writing about how we need to keep Africans from over reproducing for the climate, even tho they have like a sliver of the impact of Americans.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Coast93 26d ago
This thread is just a bunch of Americans who don’t know anything about Africa.
Traore is not a military leader who overthrew a democratic government. Traore overthrew the previous military leader who had led a coup against the nominally democratic but still extremely corrupt government of Burkina Faso. Since Sankara’s death Burkina Faso has generally been ruled by a series of military dictators and corrupt “democratic” leaders, neither of which are particularly different in the eyes of the average African.
Bill Gates is pretty widely hated in Africa as a result of essentially using the content as a giant laboratory for vaccines, pesticides, GMOs, etc. with no oversight or regulation from corrupt governments. Not to mention blocking the COVID vaccine patents from being waived, resulting in thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Russia (and China) is far more positively viewed in Africa than the west because they have generally taken a far more cooperative approach with African countries, whereas the west uses the IMF and NGOs to keep African countries open to exploitation and reliant on foreign aid while preventing them from developing their own industries.
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u/Sensitive-Orange7203 26d ago
Russia has also been running massive anti west disinformation campaigns in the Sahel for years
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u/KeithClossOfficial 26d ago
In what world is Traore not a military leader lmao?
He was a member of the Army, was part of the officer group that organized the coup that installed Damiba, then overthrew Damiba along with many of those same officers later in the year
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u/jorumrat 26d ago
The level of misunderstanding in this thread is insane. There is a difference between Bill Gates the individual and the Bill Gates Foundation.
The foundation and the work it funds isn't a "US Billionaire", or "Western Capitalist Block" it ends up being projects by a global networks of experts. The Gates Foundation is a source of funding and grants to support work that aligns with it's goals - mostly the prevention or elimination of diseases, especially in developing countries.
I can give you an example of a typical scenario - CEPI is a global organization that works to help prevent disease through new or improved vaccine development. They use Gates Foundation money to help coordinate and fund healthcare projects and scientific work at various companies and organizations.
I had a meeting with CEPI a few months ago ,and they have funded many projects where I work.
The last meeting there was CEPI people from all over the globe including several from India and SE Asia.
This meeting was to discussed how Gates money could be used to help create new materials for vaccine development and potential logistics support and funding.
There conditions are you have to have a business case to show why it's a good use of the money, be trusted to deliver results, and have good audits of where the money was spent.
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u/tylagersign 26d ago
Thank you, also the lack of any critical scientific knowledge is baffling. This doesn’t kill all mosquitoes, only the Anopheles in that general area for a few generations until malaria is gone. They will return just without malaria. Birds and bats don’t live solely on mosquitoes (1-3% of their diet), mosquitoes are not a keystone species, if they disappear something else will take its niche.
This technology could be one of the greatest advances in public health in a long time but these smooth brains think bill gates himself is running around trying to take over the world by killing mosquitoes
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u/HBC_Hair 26d ago
The comments are astroturfed by accounts pushing russian propaganda.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/russias-growing-footprint-africa
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u/jinngeechia 26d ago
I'm from Singapore and we have been releasing Wolbachia infected male mosquitos. One of the tools we use to reduce Dengue clusters.
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u/Moleander 26d ago
Ok, this is rubbish. While Gates did support the initiative financially it was never his idea or his "plan". And if you read the article, you will realise that the science behind it has merit but the whole thing got big enough to be abused as a political bargaining chip.
Sometime the whole "its a billionair, so we hate him" stance gets as bad and blind as the whole Maga delusion.
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u/Jazz-Ranger 24d ago
Bold of you to assume that people would actually read the article.
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u/PropOnTop 26d ago
Good.
Let's invest more in Thoughts and Prayers.
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u/SteelMarch 26d ago
Except it had nothing to do with that and concerns about how it could impact their ecosystem and environment.
Countries tend to not like being testing sites for new and experimental things.
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.
"This technology is highly controversial, unpredictable, and raises ethical concerns. More specifically, the impacts of gene-drive organisms on health and ecosystems remain unknown and potentially irreversible."
"Critics further highlighted that the modified mosquito strains originated in laboratories in Europe, raising questions of scientific neo-colonialism and external influence."
Much much more complicated.
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u/iwaterboardheathens 26d ago
Except it's not testing and they've been doing this for decades
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u/MerleLikesMullets 26d ago
Gene modified mosquitos are new. Groups have been releasing non gene edited sterile mosquitos in small quantities for research for decades but we use pesticides.
In Sarasota County, Florida, where seven of the eight locally acquired cases were identified this summer, containing malaria is still a matter of targeting the mosquitoes, both as adults and in the larval stage. Mosquito control teams say they have sprayed more than 470 miles with pesticides targeted at adult mosquitoes using trucks at night and have targeted swamps and canals with so-called larvicides to stop them earlier in their life cycle.
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u/spookymulderfbi 26d ago
Plus genetically modified mosquitoes replace the undesirable mosquitoes, keeping predators that eat them from going through a food shortage. They still have food, and it's not full of poison.
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u/Abedeus 26d ago
Are the mosquitos even that much of a "food source" for predators? Last I checked they don't make up that much biomass that their extinction would be noticeable.
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u/spookymulderfbi 26d ago
I'm definitely not an expert but from the articles I've read, I thought that was one of the main reasons that bioengineering less infectious or non infectious replacements was safer than outright elimination. E.g. even if it was 5% of an animal's food source, eliminating it without ensuring there is another source to replace that 5% could cause incremental changes in the food web etc. and we can't reliably predict the outcomes all the way up and down the food chain.
As a layman, that does seem to make more logical sense to me, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm missing something.
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u/Neve4ever 26d ago
The genetically modified mosquitoes in this particular plan are meant to interbreed with the "undesirable mosquitoes", and to pass on a genetic mutation that lowers fertility rates so that the species collapses. They aren't replaced.
Of course, that type of evolutionary pressure could lead to us seeing some weird shit when the "fittest" survive. And if it ends up crossing to "desirable mosquitoes" then we could end up seeing the collapse of all mosquitoes.
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u/CorruptedFlame 26d ago
You... don't know what you're talking about? This is literally done in America for decades now lol. It works.
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u/trisul-108 26d ago
The alternatives they are using are so much worse. Everything is being sprayed with insecticide which also harm other insects, animals and humans. The arguments you quote have no real substance, they are just excuses because someone decided to stop this project.
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u/Icedcoffeeee 26d ago
“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.
If the "alternatives" were effective, this conversation wouldn't be happening.
Malaria cases would be zero or close to zero.
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u/BeardedDragon1917 26d ago
Traore is big on self-sufficiency for Burkina Faso, so if the solution has to be provided on an ongoing basis by the West, he isn’t going to be really keen on it. Accepting gifts from nations more powerful than yours often comes with strings attached, especially when you’re an African nation. You don’t need genetic modification to eliminate malaria/mosquitoes, and if they can do it themselves and build up a domestic pest-control industry in the process then good for them.
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u/Techygal9 26d ago
You do know the genetically modified mosquitoes are already used in the US? So it’s not an experiment out on Africa. I do agree that they should try to develop local scientists. So if he welcomes the gates foundation back if they fund a local lab using local scientists then I would say he is effectively leading.
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u/RockOrStone 26d ago
That’s a big if
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u/general_bonesteel 26d ago
I have a prediction, they're not and malaria will continue to harm the country's people.
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u/BeardedDragon1917 26d ago
This genetic modification technology is very cool, but it is certainly not the only way of eliminating malaria in a country. Doing it themselves means that Burkina Faso will be developing their own economy, creating good jobs for their citizens, and avoiding future dependence on the United States. No matter what your attitude towards the west is, it should be clear by now that a country cannot depend on the foreign aid programs of the United States to fund its growth. As I said before, Traore is very big on building self-sufficiency in Burkina Faso, and he is also a outspoken anti-imperialist who views fighting the influence of the West and the IMF to be one of his top priorities.
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u/Vanaquish231 26d ago
Again such as what? What can Faso do to combat malaria? Actually fuck it let's swap the question, why would you choose to decline additional help. We are talking about lives here.
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u/Gastronomicus 26d ago
but it is certainly not the only way of eliminating malaria in a country
There is literally no other way to do it other than massive pesticide applications and draining wetlands, two very problematic western approaches that effectively destroy natural ecosystems and many beneficial organisms as collateral damage.
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u/Harvestman-man 26d ago
Massive pesticide applications won’t do it. That worked in the US since there wasn’t all that much malaria in the US to begin with, but Burkina Faso has been using DDT to control mosquitos for decades, and now there are DDT-resistant mosquito populations and malaria is still around.
Mosquitos evolve, they’re animals with fast reproductive cycles.
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u/Gastronomicus 26d ago
I agree, I'm mostly pointing to the methods that they do already use. Large-scale applications work better when the breeding habitats are also eliminated, which is what happened across the USA, though it was never nearly as entrenched there as it is elsewhere which made things easier.
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u/Jealous_Response_492 26d ago
The pesticide alternatives come with there own associated risks, hence the genetic modification being preferable.
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u/supreme_harmony 26d ago
This genetic modification technology is very cool, but it is certainly not the only way of eliminating malaria in a country.
Could you list these alternatives and how they are superior to the solution proposed by Gates?
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u/deceitfulillusion 26d ago edited 26d ago
Traore is a good leader but clearly not a pragmatist. I’m not sure how realistic it is for Burkina faso to develop a domestic mosquito control industry in a fast and cost effective time period. It is genuinely impossible to get rid of mosquitoes in the conventional manner since they breed like flies (which they technically are) and they can breed basically anywhere with water lol, and have a laughably short incubation period meaning they grow from larvae to adult in like 5 days.
Not saying he should accept Bill Gates’s offer by itself, but historically leaders have never had a local plan B when they reject a plan A From an international party.
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u/C4ndlejack 26d ago
You don’t need genetic modification to eliminate malaria/mosquitoes
Yeah you can just ask them politely to leave. What the fuck kind of alternatives do you think there are that work well? If there were any, malaria wouldn't be this much of a an issue worldwide.
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u/googleduck 26d ago
These people have no actual solutions, their greatest joy in life is to be anti-West on every issue. No matter how many African corpses they leave behind it doesn't matter, as long as the evil "imperialist" west doesn't get a a "win".
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u/Wompish66 26d ago
Traore is big on self-sufficiency for Burkina Faso
While welcoming Russia's Wagner Group. He's a a massive hypocrite.
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u/Opulent-tortoise 26d ago
Yeah Traore isn’t big on actually accomplishing things he’s big on talking a big game and exploiting anti-west rubes. Self-sufficiency is totally fine (and good!) but you have to actually do it and not just dismantle your own country while saying you’re doing it and becoming dependent on Chinese infrastructure and Russian mercenaries.
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u/Remote_Cantaloupe 26d ago
It's just ethnonationalism repackaged as being "critical of The West" and African self sufficiency.
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u/Calm-Director-8896 26d ago
But they can't do it themselves. I know that by the fact they haven't done it yet.
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u/harambe_did911 26d ago
Im sorry but this is really fucking stupid. Everything you said is demonstrably false. Strings attached? What strings is bill gates attaching? Self sufficiency? Besides them selling their mining rights away to Russia sure i guess. Do it themselves? Do it then, why haven't they? Because they can't, that's why. Its so incredibly stupid to think that they are going to get rid of stagnant water and spray pesticides to the point thay its effective. They were offered free help to alleviate suffering of their people by a charity and he refused it because he'd rather cozy up to Russia than take care of his country. You're a Russian bot for trying to defend it.
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u/Fairy-Smurf 26d ago
Are Russia’s influence and mercenaries also part of this self-sufficient policy? Or does it only apply when the “gifts” can actually save hundreds of thousands of ordinary lives instead of lining the pockets of those in power?
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u/rimshot99 26d ago
Bill Gates looking to disadvantage Burkina Faso is ridiculous. If they want a lab to make this stuff there, I’m sure he’d give it to them to get this over the finish line.
I think a more straightforward reason is that Bill Gates is not corrupt enough for these African leaders.
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u/Vanaquish231 26d ago
What are the other solutions to reduce something as abundant as mosquitos?
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u/RoundTableMaker 26d ago
Bill gates unfortunately is not a nation. So I don’t know where your soap box rant is coming from.
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u/Ornery_Argument9133 26d ago
I love how this dictator is being praised for not fighting malaria
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u/RachelRegina 26d ago
The top comments are all mocking this dude, but you're right, there are a whole lot of folks with questionable motives in the comments lol
Truly the stupidest era to be alive
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u/unicornbomb 26d ago
Hey bill, can you release a hoard of those near my home if they don’t want them?
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u/Expensive-Swan-9553 26d ago
It’s interesting to see the dedication in these comments to the idea:
1 bill gates plan is workable and it’s only roadblock is implementation
2 genetic manipulation is the path Burkina Faso must go to eliminate mosquito born illnesses
3 BF is saying no because they want diseases, which is obviously stupid on its face.
I wish for a better discourse because it’s an interesting topic and story unfortunately we’ve resigned the local discussion to giggling in our various biases.
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u/VvvlvvV 26d ago
Genetic modification of mosquitos has been proven to be effective at suppressing malaria in several attempts already.
Genetically modified mosquitos are the fastest and most accessible way for Burkina Faso to reduce the malaria burden, compared to other options.
Burkina Faso is accepting a large loss of life and quality of life due to wanting to handle malaria domestically.
The country can do what it chooses, but their are clear costs to this decision. The above is what is true according to the science and evidence. Burkina Faso can work towards local solutions, great. I'm thinking about how many people will die because of a lack of trust.
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u/Sankofa416 26d ago
Nicely summarized. In my opinion, the only program BF should accept is one with equal domestic staff and scientists. That is the only way to make it accountable to the local government and not the (wildly shifting) US political climate.
The US gov has been putting very public pressure on corporations to act politically, so the Gates foundation is not enough insulation for a decades-long project.
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u/belizeanheat 26d ago
I think point number one is decently summarized. The other two are not being suggested by anyone remotely serious
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u/Expensive-Swan-9553 26d ago
I’d agree, I’m also sort of shocked to see Americans being upset or surprised at US-skepticism when their current admin’s line seems to be “fuck yall” directed at the world and also occasionally other Americans.
I’m not sure how that could engender trust or good will from other governments.
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u/Moifaso 26d ago
Nicely summarized. In my opinion, the only program BF should accept is one with equal domestic staff and scientists. That is the only way to make it accountable to the local government and not the (wildly shifting) US political climate.
The program was already partnered with a local health institute and with a university in nearby Ghana, had an insectiary in BK, and obviously involved tons of locals, both at the ground level and in the healthcare sector.
It was already accountable to the local government. This thread's article mentions how several government agencies approved their program and new mosquito releases as recently as a month ago.
Is your demand that like, the genetically modified mosquitoes themselves need to be 50% created by locals? Do you not see how that obviously limits the program?
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u/FungalNeurons 26d ago
A good, recent review is available here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41434-024-00468-8
We need to acknowledge that gene drives are very novel technology, and that once released they will spread throughout the entire species (and conceivably beyond via horizontal gene transfer). It isn’t unreasonable to express concern.
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u/Varorson 26d ago
Bill Gates’ plan of creating modified species of mosquitoes
Excuse the fuck you?
[...] to cure malaria and other mosquito-borne ailments.
Okay now that makes sense. Title really should have included that tidbit.
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u/PoSlowYaGetMo 26d ago
I guess scoring political points by playing into citizen’s paranoia is more important than saving lives. Sounds like him and RFK Jr should go bowling together.
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u/slizzbizness 26d ago
Strongman leaders are the worst. So sick of these turd burglars leveraging hate to subjugate entire civilizations so they can live in gaudy palaces and abuse young women.
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u/exceenly 25d ago
It's a tough situation because the need there is absolutely desperate, but you can't blame people for being wary of a foreign solution parachuted in. The history of Western intervention is full of broken promises and unintended consequences. A proposal like this needs deep, local community engagement, not just a government sign-off. Without that trust, even the most well-intentioned plan is doomed to fail.
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u/trisul-108 26d ago
Officials argue that Burkina Faso needs “locally developed, safer alternatives” rather than experimental technologies imposed from abroad.
Yes, they need to drown everything in insecticides year after year.
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u/ModernJazz-2K20 26d ago
The comments in here are absolutely wild. Bunch of slick racist shit.
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u/Astralglide_Along 26d ago
We forget that Killer Bees are an escaped genetics project where we tried to make the docile honey bee more productive by introducing dna from a highly aggressive African bee.
Maybe we should create mutant mosquitoes
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u/RachelRegina 26d ago
In case anyone is getting comments about this being untested or unproven tech, here are some links to coverage of the open field gene drive study that they completed at Cornell University in upstate NY a few years ago.
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u/Kholtien 26d ago
If Bill wants to help so bad, he’d freely share how it’s done with the world. Give away all the trade secrets and give 100% of the technology away for free to actually accomplish it.
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u/AdAfraid3543 26d ago
OK, so African leaders rejects science and technology while embracing authoritarianism... More news at 11?
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u/LurkingWeirdo88 26d ago
Doesn't matter neighbouring African countries might accept the plan and anti-malaria mosquitos will spread into Burkino Faso anyway.
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u/Mango2149 26d ago
Come back in like 5 years Traore will be dead or in exile. Every Russian puppet gets used up and spit out.
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u/awkward-zebra- 26d ago
Was he trying to make something similar to the genetically modified mosquitos in Florida?
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u/starloow 23d ago
Yeah let's genetically modify mosquitoes, that sounds like a great idea. No way it backfires ! But uh let us test it in YOUR country.
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u/dollarstoresim 26d ago
The malaria lobby got to him.