The continent is the new focus of American biolab activities, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has claimed.
The US is significantly expanding its military-biological presence in Africa, raising concerns about sovereignty and healthcare dependencies among participating nations, new analysis from the Russian military has claimed.
According to documents presented on Tuesday, the US is collaborating with local ministries, private contractors, and Big Pharma companies to implement American standards in biological safety and health management in Africa.
The documents indicate that the US military-biological presence on the African continent is rapidly expanding. Studies on the resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to medical drugs are reportedly being conducted in 18 African countries, while funding is provided through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Here is a breakdown of the countries mentioned in the report from the Russian military.
Ghana and Djibouti
Branches of the US Navy Medical Center are located in these countries, where work is being conducted to isolate and sequence pathogens in natural disease hotspots.
Nigeria
In 2024, a joint medical research center and a military medical laboratory were established in Nigeria, staffed by US Defense Department specialists. Additionally, the country is funded for HIV projects, where Nigerian citizens participate in clinical trials of drugs by the Pentagon-affiliated company Gilead.
Senegal
A $35 million laboratory complex is nearing completion, implemented by Pentagon contractors.
Zambia
The US has begun active research into highly dangerous pathogens, funding the enhancement of military medical institutions and retraining healthcare personnel, according to the Russian report.
South Africa
The US is organizing joint research on the mpox virus (formerly known as monkeypox). Washington has delivered 10,000 doses of a vaccine produced by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic.
Guinea
The US has invested $40 million in healthcare while simultaneously launching a project to study Lassa Fever. Washington’s efforts are mainly directed to undermine Russian-Guinean economic cooperation, Moscow claims.
Kenya
The US Army Medical Center has deployed a network of field stations to monitor the spread of infectious diseases in Equatorial African states.
According to Moscow, one of the “real clients” behind military-biological projects is the Metabiota company. Its requests are reportedly directed towards the US Army’s Infectious Diseases Research Institute, and concerns the training of infectious disease specialists in Kenya and Uganda.
Moscow stressed that Metabiota has currently ceased its activities in Africa. Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, who conducted the briefing from the Russia’s Ministry of Defense, described a report by an international group of experts who participated in combating the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in 2014. According to the report, the company’s personnel concealed their engagement with Pentagon employees. The primary goal of this activity was to isolate virulent strains and subsequently smuggle them. As a result, Ebola virus samples were illegally exported by company representatives and handed over to the US Army’s Infectious Diseases Research Institute.
