{"id":374469,"date":"2026-07-31T01:19:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=374469"},"modified":"2026-07-31T01:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:49:55","slug":"u-s-says-error-mislabelled-every-african-country-on-aids-conference-map-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/u-s-says-error-mislabelled-every-african-country-on-aids-conference-map-national\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. says \u2018error\u2019 mislabelled every African country on AIDS conference map – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The U.S. government on Thursday acknowledged an \u201cunlucky error\u201d that led to a map of Africa with each country mislabelled being shown at a world AIDS conference this week.<\/p>\n

The mislabelled map was shown during a presentation on the AIDS 2026 Conference in Rio de Janeiro on the U.S. State Department\u2019s latest health program funding agreements with African nations, that are being reworked after the Trump administration reduced global aid last yr.<\/p>\n

Images of the map first appeared Sunday in a Substack post by AIDS expert and activist Emily Bass<\/a> and were widely shared on LinkedIn. Reuters then viewed video of the presentation and published screenshots of the map in query.<\/p>\n

The map shows Nigeria, a rustic on the West African coast, as landlocked within the northern Sahara Desert. Mozambique, on the southeast coast, is errantly labelled further north within the Horn of Africa, where Ethiopia actually is.<\/p>\n

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Although Uganda and Malawi are shown in roughly their real-life positions, their borders are completely redrawn, as are the opposite countries identified on the map.<\/p>\n

The colors of every country also don’t correspond with those of the country names connected to them. In a single example, an orange label for C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire \u2014 one other West African country falsely shown as landlocked \u2014 connects to a green country on the opposite side of the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an unlucky error attributable to a team member who swiftly altered the slide deck immediately before the presentation on the AIDS 2026 Conference,\u201d a State Department spokesperson told Global News on background in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Reuters reported that its evaluation found the image of the map included within the presentation contained a man-made intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The corporate told Reuters it was investigating.<\/p>\n

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The U.S. State Department spokesperson told Global News that \u201chigh-level delegations from a broad range of African countries\u201d were present on the session, \u201ccountries we’re working with closely to implement the America First Global Health Strategy\u2019s vision of sustainable, country-owned health programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Despite the error-filled map, \u201cThe engagement within the room was substantive and constructive,\u201d the statement added, \u201creflecting our ongoing relationship with recipient country governments as we work with them to actively shape how their very own health programs are designed and resourced going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration and Republican majorities within the U.S. Congress slashed foreign aid budgets last yr and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).<\/p>\n

Those moves, in addition to a freeze on all foreign funding pending a review, disrupted the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, referred to as PEPFAR<\/a>, which is credited for saving the lives of over 25 million people world wide with HIV since its creation in 2003.<\/p>\n

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