IN SHORT: Claims that Namibian president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah “rejected a proposal from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct trials of a hormonal intrauterine device” are false. Health misinformation like this can be dangerous.
Disclaimer: Funding from the Gates Foundation made up 16% of Africa Check’s income in 2024.
“The veracity of this post is disdained on FB. Can you please check it?” asked a subscriber to our WhatsApp line about a post going viral on social media in South Africa.
The message reads:
Breaking News🚨🚨🚨Namibia’s Presido, Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has firmly rejected a proposal from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct trials of a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) designed to prevent pregnancy for up to eight years in Namibia. With resolute authority, President Nandi-Ndaitwah condemned the initiative as a profound injustice to the Namibian people and humanity at large.In her official statement, the President declared: ‘Namibia is a nation of modest size, with a population of just over 3 million. If any country should consider measures to curb population growth, it ought to be nations like the United States, with over 347 million people. Any attempt to hinder or suppress the growth of human potential in Namibia constitutes a grave injustice to our people and their future.’
Namibia is a country in southwest Africa. In March 2025, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took over as the country’s first female president.
The same claim has been doing the rounds on X, Facebook and Instagram. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But what are the facts? We found out.
The Gates Foundation, IUDs and more context
Founded by philanthropist Bill Gates and his then wife Melinda French Gates, the Gates Foundation is a private organisation dedicated to improving global health and reducing extreme poverty.
Bill Gates has been a frequent target of “trial-themed” health misinformation for years, particularly on “population control”.
But the foundation has been open about its efforts towards better family planning and access to contraceptives for women and girls in low- and middle-income countries in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The social media posts surfaced after the foundation launched an affordable, long-term hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) in Africa. The new contraceptive is to be rolled out in Kenya and Nigeria and is designed to prevent pregnancy for up to eight years.
An IUD is a T-shaped form of birth control that is inserted into the uterus. Depending on the brand, this contraceptive can last three to 10 years.
‘No such proposal was submitted’
There is no evidence of a Gates-endorsed IUD “trial proposal” in Namibia, or of the Namibian president rejecting such a proposal.
On their official X account, the Namibian presidency posted a screenshot of the claim with “FAKE NEWS” stamped on it.
Presidential spokesperson Jonas Mbambo also confirmed to Namibian news outlets that “no such proposal was ever submitted to or discussed by the Namibian government”.
Mbambo told the media that the presidency “remains committed to supporting evidence-based health initiatives and urges the public and media to verify facts before spreading misinformation”.
Historical context and the dangers of health misinformation
The social media messages refer to “population control” with the use of contraceptives. Mistrust of family planning interventions and their link to population control on the continent have an important historical context. This includes examples of forced or coerced sterilisation in South Africa and of women living with HIV in Namibia. Similar examples from around the world have been documented, including up to the present day.
Historically, the development of IUDs was closely linked with population control and the eugenics movement. And concerns have been raised about the ethical implications of modern-day contraceptive interventions, especially those that involve long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), such as IUDs.
Studies of LARC interventions have found a pattern of practices that undermine consent, especially for marginalised populations, involving a spectrum of subtle to direct coercion.
One review of literature from 2000 to 2020 in sub-Saharan Africa found that family-planning interventions tended to favour long-acting forms of contraception over other methods. Many measured success of the interventions by women choosing to use these contraceptives, and not other outcomes, such as where women were informed about the intervention and chose not to use contraceptives, or expressed the desire to have children.
The authors explained that this might mean healthcare providers “can be (more or less overtly) pressured to reach specific uptake targets” rather than considering the preferences of individuals, “potentially undermining [their] autonomy and choice”.
This and other issues, such as a lack of proper counselling and limited contraceptive options presented to women, as well as difficulty accessing medical care to remove long-acting contraceptive methods when desired, may all compromise women’s choices.
On the other hand, as the World Health Organization explains, information and access to contraceptives form part of health and human rights for all. Contraceptives allow for the prevention of unintended pregnancies, which in turn helps lower maternal ill-health and the number of pregnancy related deaths.
Access to contraceptives also plays a crucial role in reducing the need for unsafe abortions in lower-income countries, as well as HIV transmissions. But it’s important to note that only condoms can prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections or diseases.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The United Nations human rights office has designated access to contraception as part of women’s right to health.
The UN says: “Early marriage and pregnancy, or repeated pregnancies spaced too closely together, have a devastating impact on women’s health with sometimes fatal consequences.”
While they can have undesirable side effects for some, contraceptives are often used to manage uncomfortable or unbearable symptoms of conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis. And some contraceptives have the added benefit of decreasing the risk of functional ovarian cysts and some cancers.
The messages spread on social media are false. While family planning interventions have been used for reproductive control of women, there is no evidence of a proposal for an IUD intervention in Namibia that was rejected by the president.
Not only does health misinformation have the potential to stop social media users from seeking verified medical care for infections or conditions, but it also undermines individuals’ right to personal choice.
It’s always best to verify the facts before sharing misinformation online.
The message has also been posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
