A network led by Robert Baldwin, an American pastor from New Jersey, is administering Ugandans with industrial bleach, an investigation by The Guardian has revealed.

Up to 50,000 Ugandans, including infants, have been administered chlorine dioxide so far, the report noted. The product, which is extremely dangerous and has no known health benefits, is being distributed by Baldwin’s network — with the help of local religious clerics — as a cure for HIV, malaria, and virtually every other disease.

The pastor and one of his network’s main backers, former British clairvoyant Sam Little from Arlesey in Bedfordshire, have “trained” over 1,200 clerics to administer the “miracle cure.” Dedicated clerics — those committed to spreading the “cure” — are awarded smartphones.

The 25-year-old Little posted to his Facebook page a video of a trip he made to a village in western Uganda. In the video, he is seen instructing local hospital staff to administer the bleach. Along with eight adults, a 14-month-old baby can be seen, screaming in its mother’s arms as it is forced to swallow the bleach.

According to The Guardian, Baldwin is importing bulk shipments of sodium chlorite and citric acid from China. When mixed together, these two chemicals produce chlorine dioxide (MMS), a bleach used in the textile industry.

Baldwin and his associates operate under a “church” he founded called Global Healing. An activist posing as a freelance reporter reached out to the pastor to discuss his Uganda campaign, learning that the 52-year-old had deliberately set the operation up as a “church” in order to avoid being caught by authorities.

“When you draw attention to MMS you run the risk of getting in trouble with the government or drug companies. You have to do it low key. That’s why I set it up through the church,” he told the activist, Fiona O’Leary, in a phone call.

American pastor giving industrial bleach to 50,000 poor Ugandans including babies, saying: "It doesn't harm them, they just get diarrhea" https://t.co/DeJ4v3Hqeg — Ed Pilkington (@Edpilkington) May 18, 2019

Baldwin also revealed that his company raises money through online donations, via Facebook. On the social network, the pastor’s potion is not referred to as MMS but as “healing water” in order to avoid being discovered and flagged by algorithms designed to crack down on such operations.

The pastor has been trained as a student nurse, but has no other form of medical expertise, according to the publication. During his conversation with O’Leary, Baldwin also explained why he chose the impoverished African country.

“America and Europe have much stricter laws so you are not as free to treat people because it is so controlled by the FDA. That’s why I work in developing countries. Those people in poor countries they don’t have the options that we have in the richer countries — they are much more open to receiving the blessings that God has given them.”

He also revealed that infants were treated with the bleach as well. Their dose was reduced to half, he said, claiming that the babies have experienced no side effects, except diarrhea.

A spokesman for the Uganda ministry of health said that a government investigation had been launched.