GATES FOUNDATION DENIES CLAIMS OF MOSQUITO RELEASE IN KENYA

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has responded to recent social media allegations that it has released mosquitoes in Kenya, calling such allegation completely false.

In an official statement, the foundation clarified that it does not carry out mosquito release initiatives within Kenya or any other country. It also stated it does not operate laboratories involved in such activities nor manage vector-control programs in Nairobi or elsewhere.

“We are aware of social media posts claiming that we release mosquitoes in Kenya. This claim is false,” the foundation stated. “We do not release mosquitoes, operate laboratories that do so, or run vector-control activities in Nairobi or anywhere else.”

The organisation said that malaria prevention and control efforts in Kenya are directed by national authorities and institutions, operating under local laws and regulatory oversight. “In Kenya, malaria prevention and control efforts are led by Kenyan authorities and institutions, in accordance with national laws and regulatory oversight,” the foundation noted.

The Gates Foundation explained that its role is to support health priorities identified locally, working transparently alongside government agencies, researchers, and public health partners. The foundation’s response follows a series of posts on social media platform X, where users speculated about the sudden increase of mosquitoes in Nairobi.

In response, the foundation supports research into various new tools, including gene drive technology, which is being developed by African scientists. This approach is part of a broader strategy that also includes advanced bed nets, new vaccines, and improved disease monitoring.

Gene drive is described as a genetic-based vector control method that alters the genes of malaria-carrying mosquitoes to reduce their ability to transmit the disease or to lower their population over generations.