Pfizer and Gates Pushing Dangerous Depo-Provera Contraceptive in Africa as Brain Tumor and Population Control Allegations Mount

An injectable birth control drug, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), widely known as Depo-Provera and marketed globally as Sayana Press, is at the centre of growing controversy. Studies have linked the popular contraceptive to a significantly higher risk of brain tumours, leading to multiple lawsuits against its manufacturer, Pfizer, and raising questions about its global promotion, particularly in Africa.

Depo-Provera, administered via injection every three months, and its newer subcutaneous version, Sayana Press, are promoted as affordable, long-term contraceptive options. Sayana Press, designed explicitly for self-administration with a small patch containing microneedles, is not available in the U.S. but is heavily targeted for use in Africa and other low and middle-income countries. Advocates, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, argue that these contraceptives address unmet family planning needs and empower women to control their reproductive health and futures.

However, a growing body of research has revealed alarming health risks. Studies published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety and the British Medical Journal have found a significantly higher risk of developing meningiomas, tumours in the membranes surrounding the brain, among women using MPA. This risk reportedly increases with prolonged exposure to the drug.

While often benign, meningiomas can cause severe neurological symptoms such as stroke, seizure disorders, and cognitive impairments, and some are inoperable due to their location and size. Pfizer, which manufactures Depo-Provera, maintains that these claims are “without merit” and affirms the drug’s safety and efficacy, stating it will “vigorously defend against these allegations”.

Despite this, the Depo-Provera data sheets have been updated to include warnings about meningioma with long-term use, advising discontinuation if a tumour occurs.

Multiple individual and class action lawsuits have been filed against Pfizer in connection with these brain tumours.

Beyond meningiomas, Depo-Provera carries the most stringent FDA Black-Box warnings, indicating significant and life-threatening side effects. These include irreversible bone mineral density (BMD) loss, especially with use exceeding two years, and increased risks of blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer, with some studies indicating a doubling of breast cancer risk. Other serious concerns include ectopic pregnancy and a delayed or absent return to fertility.

A particularly critical health concern is the drug’s impact on HIV/AIDS susceptibility. High doses of progesterone in Depo-Provera can thin the vaginal epithelium, drastically increasing a woman’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Research, including a study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and NIH, explicitly recommended that women be counselled about the potentially increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition and transmission with hormonal contraception, especially injectables, and the importance of using condoms for dual protection.

Organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO), influenced by powerful funders, have downplayed these severe risks, dismissing conflicting research as “inconclusive”.

The widespread promotion of Depo-Provera and Sayana Press, particularly in Africa, has ignited accusations of a “population control agenda” targeting “women of colour and low-income women”. This is viewed as an “insidious eugenics evolution,” reminiscent of historical forced sterilisations.

This includes significant drops in birth rates among Black women in the U.S. and Ethiopian women in Israel linked to Depo-Provera use.

There are also allegations of a lack of informed consent, particularly in low-income countries, where women are reportedly not adequately counselled about Depo-Provera’s severe side effects and FDA Black-Box warnings. The self-injection system (Sayana Press) is a means to circumvent the need for healthcare professionals to provide this crucial counselling, potentially violating regulations.

Over the years, fraudulent and unethical experiments involving Depo-Provera have been documented, further fueling these concerns. These include the Navrongo experiment in Ghana (1994-2006), where approximately 9,000 impoverished women were allegedly subjected to experiments without informed consent, with data reportedly fabricated.

Similarly, the Grady Clinic in Atlanta, Georgia (1967-1978), reportedly tested Depo-Provera on 14,000 low-income women without their awareness, with cases of cancer and death allegedly going unreported to the FDA. Pfizer has also faced lawsuits for illegal human experiments involving other drugs, such as Trovan in Nigeria.

Organisations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged billions to expand contraceptive access in low-income countries, a move seen as advancing a population control agenda. Institutions such as USAID, Planned Parenthood, and the Population Council are identified as controlling principal intermediaries for Pfizer, accused of colluding to conceal harm and promote the drug, sometimes with monetary incentives.

The WHO is also criticised for allegedly acting as a “rubber-stamp for corporations,” influenced by major funders like Gates, to approve and promote drugs like Depo-Provera and even Norplant. This dangerous contraceptive was pulled from the U.S. market but continues to be sold abroad.

In response to these concerns, multiple lawsuits are ongoing against Pfizer in various regions regarding the risks associated with Depo-Provera, including brain tumours. The Rebecca Project for Justice has urged the U.S. Government to enforce mandatory FDA Black Box patient counselling requirements and ensure valid informed consent before Depo-Provera administration.

The organisation also recommends ending all government/federal funding of Depo-Provera in social welfare and family planning programmes, citing India’s policy of removing the drug from its national family welfare programmes. Furthermore, U.S. prosecutors have legal precedent to charge Pfizer and its intermediaries with fraud for making false claims, illegal promotion, and concealing harm.

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West Africa Weekly

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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