According to an investigation by ProPublica, the U.S. State Department has been conditioning aid to African nations on access to citizens' personal medical data. The practice, which critics frame as 'digital colonialism,' raises concerns about data sovereignty and privacy rights in developing countries. The demands echo historical patterns of resource extraction from the Global South—except this time, the resource is data. Privacy advocates warn that granting such access could establish dangerous precedents for government surveillance and corporate exploitation across the continent.

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