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Why did UNESCOâs life sciences prize linked to Teodoro Obiang cause controversy?
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In 2008, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo sponsored the establishment of a UNESCO life sciences prize with a $3 million endowment. The initiative sparked significant controversy in 2010, when the award was first scheduled to be conferred, due to Obiangâs poor human rights record, long-standing allegations of siphoning national oil revenue for personal use, and the impoverished quality of life experienced by the majority of the population in Equatorial Guinea.1
In response to the backlash, UNESCO postponed the award until 2012 and renamed it the UNESCOâEquatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences.1