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/Vanaquish231 16h 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/BeardedDragon1917 15h ago

Do you really think that we have no ways of combating mosquitoes other than genetically modified males? Do you think that nobody tried to address this problem before the Bill Gates foundation?

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u/Vanaquish231 15h ago

Other than pesticides, and straight up dealing with the later infections, no not really.

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u/googleduck 5h ago

Yes plenty of people have tried to address the problem, moron. Yet the malaria deaths continue. Perhaps those methods aren't sufficient?

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u/Professional-Day7850 2h ago

Flip the order of your questions.

People tried to address the problem. Problem is still there. So those others ways don't seem to work that well.

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u/BeardedDragon1917 2h ago

These genetically modified mosquitoes were never meant to be a singular magic bullet against malaria. They are meant to be used alongside other methods of mosquito eradication, like spraying pesticides, draining their breeding grounds, and introducing natural predators. Not even Bill Gates is suggesting that you can’t eliminate malaria without this technology. A high tech solution might seem attractive, but if it’s a solution that can be shut off at the whim of a foreign government or NGO for political reasons, they don’t want to risk that. A lot of African leaders are extremely skeptical of aid programs, both because they can be used as geopolitical leverage against them, and because relying on foreign aid harms the growth and development of their nations economies.