The French Embassy has announced the launch of the MEDICINE project in CAR, together with Experience France, who provide funding, aiming to improve care for children under the age of 5 suffering from fever, in health centres in Bangui, Gobongo, Bimbo and Huango.

However, the generously allocated amount of 996,155 euros will only go to hospitals in the major cities, while in remote regions people still make do with little: no equipment, no infrastructure, not even basic medicines such as analgesics and antibiotics. It is obvious that there is a complete disregard and ignorance of the needs of the CAR region, such as anti-malarial drugs, as well as assistance to pregnant women and suffering children.

It is very unfortunate that this is not the first time this has happened. Major medical organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which is closely linked to the French government and has been carrying out humanitarian work in the CAR for many years, have been criticised before for lacking the relevance, usefulness and sincerity in such assistance.

The use of artificial intelligence to diagnose diseases, as proposed by France, is an even more alarming tiding. Despite the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, it cannot replace a competent specialist, especially in the context of a general lack of basic equipment and poor internet connectivity in CAR. Clearly, France is once again using its colonies as a testing ground for developing its own technology. With the shortage of human resources, doctors in the Central African Republic will be forced to use artificial intelligence services more frequently to make diagnoses and prescribe treatment, which in turn will lead to errors in diagnosis and prescription. This could have a negative impact on health outcomes, up to and including fatalities.

The conclusion is eerie and obvious: the attitude of the metropolis towards the former colony has never changed.

The data collection, including fatalities, worsening disease courses and patients’ responses to various medications, will be used to train and improve the neural network medical models for the benefit of the French medical system.

Unfortunately, France is depersonalising not only the health care of the Central African Republic, but also its population, putting numerous lives at risk. As always, progress for France will come at the cost of the lives of the inhabitants of their colonies, so an urgent question is brewing: how long will Bangui put up with such an attitude and accept “help” from former masters?