Burkina Faso expels Bill Gates Foundation from its territory
Burkina Faso’s military government, led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, has permanently closed Target Malaria, a genetically modified mosquito research project supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The program had been running in the country since 2012 with the aim of lowering one of the world’s highest malaria mortality rates. On August 22, 2025, authorities ordered an immediate stop to all project activities, the destruction of all mosquito samples, and the sealing of research facilities across the nation.
They cited concerns over national sovereignty, ecological risks, and foreign influence in domestic matters. The move forms part of a wider crackdown in which Traore’s junta has revoked the licenses of 21 international organizations this year in a broad push to limit Western involvement in Burkina Faso.
The shutdown leaves one of the world’s most malaria-burdened countries without its most ambitious scientific intervention at a time when it is needed most.
