Recently, the Pfizer & Melinda Gates Foundation partnered to
launch a new contraceptive into the African market, Nigeria included.
But, the new contraceptive may be doing more harm than good to african women.
The following article, sent in by Obianuju Ekeocha of the Culture of
Life Africa, an organistion that protects the sanctity and dignity of Life in
Africa, explains while this is so.
I stumbled upon the recent
joint
announcement of Pfizer Inc., the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) to expand access to
Pfizer’s injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press (medroxyprogesterone acetate),
for women in the world’s poorest countries. Some of the targeted countries
named for this expansive contraception project include Burkina Faso, Kenya,
Niger, Senegal, Uganda and my own country Nigeria.
This announcement was immediately picked and praised by many News Agencies
in the western world including BBC News where it was described as "
The One dollar contraceptive
set to make family planning easier "
One cannot help but wonder, "easier" for whom? For Ugandan, Kenyan
and Nigerian women? Or for the multi-billionaire Pfizer, Gates and CIFF?
Reading this announcement and the related News articles further, I realised
that this project is not a new one rather its inception can be traced back
directly to the extensive contraception fundraising project launched by Melinda
Gates 2 years ago during the Family Planning summit of 2012.
All of it seems now to be actualised in this cheap contraceptive device
targeted towards the poorest women in the world.
So by sheer determination and will, these wealthy figures - Pfizer, Gates
& CIFF, have succeeded in rolling out in the world of the poor, the
$1-per-piece device designed to become the prevalent self injectable
contraception of the developing world, the wonder device that will make it all
so easy to sterilise millions of women across my Continent.
They claim that this would be the pathway to development as well as the
emancipation and elevation of African women. They tell us that it will give
African women control over their lives.
But I dare to ask them exactly how sterilising the wombs of the poorest
women in the world would give them control over famine, draught, disease and
poverty. It absolutely will not make women more educated, or more employable.
This extensive contraception project will provide food or safe drinking water
for women who submit to it. It will not make African women happier or more
satisfied in their marriages. No. It will only make them sterile at the
cheapest rate possible.
This is certainly not what the African women have asked. It is not the
miracle that our hearts crave amidst the trials and difficulties of Africa. But
yet in a world of shocking cultural imperialism, it is what our
"betters" have chosen to unleash upon us.
And what is more insidious is that this product being launched is the
self-injectable version of the highly controversial Depo-Provera that has been
put into question in the developed world after having been shown in various
studies to carry dangerous and even lethal side effects.
In October 2011 the New York Times published an article entitled
Contraceptive
Used in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V. This article was based on a
cohort study by prestigious medical Research journal
The
Lancet that clearly stated that "
the risk of HIV-1
acquisition doubled with the use of hormonal contraception especially the
injectable methods."
And what is most shocking is that this study was partly sponsored by the
Gates Foundation and yet after these findings, they have gone ahead to launch
this high risk product in targeted countries of their choice (Uganda, Kenya,
Niger, Nigeria and many others), countries where the women may never be able to
raise their voices when the lethal effects set in.
In addition to the HIV-related effects of this product, there is also the
doubled risk of breast cancer demonstrated by various studies like the
extensive
research done by the Fred Hutchingson Cancer Research centre, Seattle
and published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in
February 2012, with the research team stating clearly after their studies :
"
We found that recent DMPA (Depo-Medroxyprogesterone acetate a.k.a
Depo-Provera) use for 12 months or longer was associated with a 2.2-fold
increased risk of invasive breast cancer."
In addition to this publication the team also made a compelling
press
release following their research.
Furthermore, this same product Depo-Provera has been clearly linked to
permanent bone density loss and on this very note, Pfizer has had a staggering
number of
prosecutions,
class-action law suits and out-of-court settlements all to the tune of
millions of dollars.
As a direct result of this, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
issued a compulsory "black-box" warning on this product that reads
:
"
Use of Depo-subQ Provera 104 or Depo Provera may cause you to lose
calcium stored in your bones. The longer you use Depo Provera, the more calcium
you are likely to lose. The calcium may not return completely once you stop
using Depo Provera. Loss of calcium may cause weak bones that could increase
the risk that your bones might break, especially after menopause. It is not
known whether your risk of developing osteoporosis may be greater if you are a
teenager when you start to use Depo Provera. You should only use Depo Provera
long term (more than 2 years) if other methods of birth control are not right
for you".
This product is flawed. It is dangerous. And from all indications it could
be lethal.
And in the developed countries, it has been marked as such.
In spite of this glaring reality, that which has been deemed unsuitable and
terribly flawed in the land of the rich, has now been brought in to the land of
the poor.
As an African woman my heart is racing today as I consider this latest
collaborative move by Pfizer, Gates Foundation and CIFF.
I think about the full implications and ramifications of this on my people,
my sisters, my aunties and my friends.
I think about the poor women in Africa who will have no means at all of
filing class-action lawsuits against these giants from the western world.
I think about our sorely inadequate healthcare systems in Africa that is not
in any way equipped to deal with the fallout or onslaught of the medical side
effects like breast cancer, osteoporosis (bone density loss) as well as
increased HIV infection rates, all associated with this contraceptive
product.
I cannot help but think about the thousands of African women who will die as
a direct result of this $1 per piece product.
Yes, my heart is racing and my mind is reeling as I try to take it all in.
Simply put, this is racism, it is imperialism and it is a form of
colonialism where the poor African women are being treated as subhuman subjects
to the wealthy and worldly.
Who will speak up for the women of Africa? Who will lament the crass
disregard for their well being? Who will complain about the cruel disrespect
with which they are being treated? Who will shed tears for the irreparable
damage that could befall them?
I am only one African woman, but from where I stand I choose today to speak
up, to lament, to complain and to shed silent tears for my fellow African
women, with the hope that by the end of today, my words and tears may reach and
touch the hearts of people of goodwill around the world who will join me in
defending the dignity of the African women.
