An American pastor from New Jersey is behind a group operating in Uganda that promotes the consumption of industrial bleach as a miraculous cure for serious illnesses including malaria.
The bleach substance, which was promoted by the group as “Miracle Mineral Solution” or MMS, has been administered to tens of thousands of unsuspecting Ugandans, according to Business Insider.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 12: Keenan Beasley
Jamarlin talks to Keenan Beasley, co-founder and managing partner of New York digital analytics company BLKBOX. The Westpoint grad and former P&G brand manager talks about his early mistakes, how NY and Silicon Valley investors differ, and the advantages of getting experience in an industry before trying to disrupt it.
In videos that were posted online in 2012, a toxic bleach was given to people suffering from malaria. Followers of the Genesis II church were told the substance had healing powers.
Pastor Robert Baldwin from New Jersey is the man behind this network of people promoting MMS as a cure for various ailments, TheGuardian reported.
Baldwin imports bulk shipments from China of sodium chlorite and citric acid, the components of the solution. He has trained more than 1,200 clerics in Uganda to administer it to as many people as possible.
Ugandans with malaria and other illnesses were tricked into consuming the bleach, with a deceptive video involving the Red Cross used by promoters to try and convince people that it has healing properties.
The Red Croos, a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance and disaster relief globally, has disowned the video. The video depicts officials in Red Cross-branded shirts treating and curing men, women and children who have been diagnosed with malaria in Uganda, according to a BusinessInsider investigation.
A person from the Red Cross who wished to remain anonymous told BusinessInsider that they believe their staff was tricked into giving their patients the toxic drink.
The video was edited to deceptively suggest a link between the Red Cross and MMS. The charity immediately denied this at the time, the DailyMail reported.
Baldwin targeted Uganda due to the lack of strict regulations in Africa, using the church to distribute MMS to attract little attention, according to TheGuardian.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that chlorine dioxide can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration. It can be fatal in large doses.
Sub Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of malaria in the world, Newsweek reported.
In 2015, about 90 percent of the cases and deaths happened there. There were approximately 214 million cases of malaria in 2015, resulting in 438,000 deaths, World Health Organization statistics showed.
