|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Claim: The Minister of Health, Dr Louise Kpoto, in an appearance before the Plenary of the House of Representatives, claimed that Liberia has the lowest rate of HIV/AIDS among African Countries.
Verdict: Misleading! Findings from UNAIDS reveal that Liberia has a relatively low HIV/AIDS rate of 0.9%, but it isn’t the lowest among African Countries. Algeria and Egypt have 0.1% of HIV/AIDS rates.
Full Text
The Minister of Health, Dr Louise Kpoto, and Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Catherine Thomas Cooper, appeared before the Plenary of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 4, to discuss critical issues being experienced in the health sector. The two Health officials were invited to provide reasons for the increased rate of maternal death, the alleged charging of patients to pay certain fees before they can be catered for at public health facilities, and the reassignment of Medical Doctors to the position of County Health Officers. Rep. Isaac Bannie of District #1 Grand Bassa County backed the communication preferred by Rep. Thomas A. Goshua of District #5. Grand Bassa County. Rep. Goshua stressed the use of a single syringe by drug dealers that is causing a high increase in infectious diseases. The Representative made mention of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis as dangerous diseases that have spread amongst the young populace lately.
In the Minister’s response to their inquiries, she said, unlike hepatitis, Liberia has the lowest HIV/AIDS rate amongst other African Countries. Minister Kpoto, comparing Liberia’s HIV/AIDS status to Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and other African Countries, said Liberia has the lowest.
“In Liberia, the HIV rate is low among our African Countries. It’s 1.5%, and sometimes it goes to 1.2% comparatively. In the Ivory Coast, comparatively, it is 2.9%. If you go to Nigeria, the percentage is higher than in Liberia,” Dr Kpoto said.
Upon her statement, lawmakers in session argued that she wasn’t providing correct information for their questions. They requested that the hearing be adjourned and that she appear in the Committee’s room with documentation for her answers.
The claim is found on the OKFM Facebook page. It can be found between 33:36 to 34:50 mins.
The back and forth on the accuracy of the information led DUBAWA to initiate a fact-check.
Verification
DUBAWA researched various documents about countries and their HIV/AIDS statuses in Africa. During the process, findings show that Liberia is part of countries with HIV rates below 1%, but it isn’t the lowest. Countries like Egypt and Algeria have 0.1% HIV/AIDS rate while Liberia has 0.9%.
Statistics from UNAIDS and World Population Review indicate that Liberia stands at 0.9% while Algeria and Egypt stand at 0.1% on HIV/AIDS status. Compared to other countries in the region, Nigeria =1.4%, Guinea=1.4%, Sierra Leone =1.3%, Ghana=1.5%, Ivory Coast =2.2%
A screenshot of World population review data on countries and HIV.
Screenshot of UNAIDS HIV/AIDS rate in Liberia and countries with the lowest HIV rates.
Conclusion
From our findings, Liberia is one of the countries with a low HIV/AIDS rate in the region, but it isn’t the lowest among African countries. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
