The government of Burkina Faso has suspended a Gates Foundation-backed malaria research program, Target Malaria, following growing criticism from anti-Western activists.
The initiative, aimed at genetically modifying mosquitoes to prevent them from transmitting the disease, was ordered to stop operations this week by the Higher Education and Research Ministry.
The program, which began releasing genetically modified male mosquitoes in 2019 in Bana village, had carried out further deployments in recent years, with the most recent just days before the suspension.
Authorities confirmed that all collected samples will be destroyed under strict protocols.
The move comes as anti-Western sentiment strengthens in Burkina Faso following the 2022 coup, with domestic groups accusing the project of worsening malaria rather than reducing it.
Activists, including French-Togolese campaigner Egountchi Behanzin and the Burkinabe Coalition for Health Sovereignty led by blogger Nestor Poodasse, denounced the program as dangerous and a tool of foreign control.
The suspension highlights mounting skepticism toward Western-backed initiatives in the country, even as the World Health Organization warns that Africa accounts for 95% of global malaria deaths.
