Africa Check debunks HIV stat

The scourge of HIV and AIDS across Africa remains high on the list of governments’ priorities, especially as it affects the most economically productive segment of their populations.

The headline “74% of African girls aged 15-24 are HIV+” on Zimbabwe Today, an online content aggregator, was therefore sure to tap into a vein of concern and fear regarding the epidemic’s impact on African populations.

But while the headline stated that 74 percent of African girls are HIV+ a different statistic appeared in the article.

A few paragraphs down it said that “adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa… now make up 74% of new HIV infections in the 15 to 24 age group”.

So which is which?

Vinayak Bhardwaj of Africa Check get to the bottom of the stats here.