r/technology • u/lurker_bee • 23h 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/xyk7xm8
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u/MrAngryBeards 20h ago

Also you really have to fully ignore the history of Africa to not see why one would be resistant to foreign aid, especially from ultra rich people from the US

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u/DevilishlyAdvocating 20h ago

Exactly. Just because Gates might not get anything out of it doesn't mean it's a total benefit without tradeoffs. Extremely ignorant to suggest otherwise.

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u/MrAngryBeards 19h ago

Under these circumstances, even some perfectly spotless no-strings attached aid could still be non-ideal in the long run. A lot of African countries have no proprietary solution to some of the issues they face, because foreign aid most often comes in the shape of band-aid solutions. Rarely do they make direct injection of money into government projects. When that occasionally happen, it's not no-strings-attached.

I don't entertain the thought too much because it really ruins my day but it's not hard to see why so many critics see the Gates Foundation as just a tax write-off scheme. Bill Gates is literally worth more money now than he was when he co-founded the giving pledge, even with all the hundreds of aid programs across Africa over however many years.

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u/ThroawayJimilyJones 19h ago

Maybe because nobody would be stupid enough to put money in a government project, when the said governement has high level of corruption and constant power fight?

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u/MrAngryBeards 19h ago

You don't have to inject money directly into the government. Ask for a plan, check the service providers involved, pay them directly, follow the development of the project. It's possible to help while being truthfully supportive instead of patronizing