In
a move witnessed by the world, the richest man in the world, Bill Gates,
decided to give away a large portion of his fortune to poor people in Africa,
India and other struggling countries.
However,
the wealth given in the name of philanthropy was actually used for 'healthcare'
in the form of vaccines in a bizarre move which ended up hurting some of the
very people he had set out to help.
Question
were raised in 2014 by the country's Supreme Court about the operations of
Gates's foundation in some rural parts of India.
Concerns
were raised when, in 2009 around 16,000 tribal girls aged 9-15from the Khammam
district in Andhra Pradesh were given the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine
that prevents cervical cancer. They were given the vaccine which is
manufactured by Merck, by the state health department under the guise that they
were being given “well-being” shots.
Unfortunately
several months later, some of the girls’ health deteriorated and five of them
died the next year. There were similar cases where two deaths were reported in
Vadodara, Gujarat, where 14,000 children were also given the HPV vaccine
Cervarix, which is produced by Glaxo SmithKline.
Two
young girls were also hospitalized in northern Columbia around the same time,
as it transpired they too had been given the vaccine.
The
story escalated when Sama a visitor from NGO visited Andhra Pradesh in March
2010.
The
health activists found out that over 100 girls had suffered from epileptic
seizures, stomach aches, headaches and mood swings. Other complaints included
early menstruation, heavy bleeding and menstrual cramps. Sama highlighted the
issue that these children were being used as guinea pigs under the illusion of
'healthcare' and it was discovered that parents had also been left in the dark
as to the implications of the vaccine, with them giving consent merely through
the form of a thumbprint, as many of the were illiterate.
The
American NGO, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) was in fact
carrying out studies on how the cervical cancer vaccine reacted when given to
young females. The shocking part? These studies by PATH were being funded by
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation considered the study a
'success' and also aided PATH in the study of Rotavirus vaccine and
pneumococcal vaccine in Africa and Asia.
This
shocking story really highlights how the lives of the poor are seen as having
zero-value in a world were everything - even basic human health is ruled by
money in a seemingly inescapable cycle.
Source
: organic and healthy