Every year, the world inches closer to disaster as bioweapons are engineered in secret labs—diseases so lethal that a single mistake could unleash mass death. COVID-19 exposed the fragility of global biosecurity, but the real threat runs deeper. Africa, particularly the Congo, has long been the testing ground for the West. Why? Because the lives of African people, it seems, are deemed expendable in the pursuit of new weapons or treatments. With rich reserves of cobalt, vital for electric car batteries, the Congo is a prime target for exploitation. By destabilizing its government and decimating its population, external actors ensure they can control its vast natural resources with minimal resistance.
“Monkeypox,” a disease that surfaced in Africa and has spread across the globe, carries a name that trivializes its threat. Yet, it’s a symbol of a much deeper issue: the systematic use of African populations as pawns in a global game of profit and power. How long will this cycle of exploitation and suffering continue before the world takes notice?African lives are not a testing ground for the West’s dangerous ambitions. The time to hold the powers accountable for their covert actions is long overdue.