AI Slop Map of Africa at AIDS Conference

A US State Department map of Africa mislabeled every country they depicted during a presentation at the AIDS 2026 conference (July 26-31, 2026) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

The slide was so egregiously wrong that multiple attendees whipped out their phones to get a shot of it; Emily Bass, a writer and AIDS expert, wrote about it at length. 

"The US government's failure to catch this error before displaying the slide at the top international AIDS conference in the world, in a session that featured the Director General of Nigeria as an invited guest, is not only disrespectful to African collaborators, it's also a significant tell", wrote Bass.

Senior officials from several African governments were reportedly among those present. 

The map shows six countries receiving US health funding and none of them are correctly named or placed. Nigeria has migrated north to become landlocked in the Sahara. Mozambique has roughly replaced Ethiopia. The Ivory Coast was placed in southern Africa, far from any coast, its name an ignored clue. Uganda and Malawi are not so far off, but drawn with wrong borders. Cameroon was named but assigned no territory at all. While one country on the Gulf of Guinea – a hypothetical union of Ghana, Benin and Togo? – went unnamed. Perhaps that is Cameroon now. 

The speaker was Jeff Graham, the US health envoy who oversees PEPFAR (⁠President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a United States government initiative.

Whoever ⁠created and approved this slide did not know where countries in Africa are and did not care to check their work. And Reuters reviewed video of the presentation and concluded that the map was AI slop. 

A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. 

The company said they were investigating the report. The State Department said they took "full responsibility" and blamed a staffer who changed the slide deck shortly before the event. 

This sort of thing is normal in the Trump administration. Last year, the White House's "Make America Healthy Again" report cited studies that did not exist, with fabricated references and other hallmarks of AI slop.

Junta-led Sahel States Formally Leave ECOWAS

On January 29, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger formally left ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc, after more than a year of diplomatic tensions.

The withdrawal has shaken the Economic Community of West African States that many consider to be the continent's most important regional group and which this year marks their 50th anniversary. 

While ECOWAS work out the terms of their future relationship with the three countries, they say they will continue to recognize all passports and identity cards bearing the ECOWAS logo held by citizens from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. They will also remain in the bloc's free-trade scheme.

West Africa observers are already concerned the withdrawal will worsen security in the region. The Sahel – the semi-arid region just south of the Sahara Desert that includes the three said countries – is wracked with jihadist insurgencies and now accounts for "almost half of all deaths from terrorism globally", a senior UN official said in April.

And in a sign of the doubts within ECOWAS, Togo and Ghana have normalised their relations with the three states.  

Yesterday's Champions League match pitting Liverpool against PSV Eindhoven wasn’t a dead rubber, despite little riding on it for the former. Even as Arne Slot rotated his squad and leaving behind nine senior players at Anfield. 

The much-changed Liverpool finished top of the Champions League group phase despite losing their 100% winning record after defeat to PSV Eindhoven – the latter won 3-2 – in a five-goal thriller.

In an action-packed first half, Cody Gakpo put the Reds ahead from the penalty spot in the 28th minute in his home city against his former club after a Rood-witten midfielder had fouled Federico Chiesa. The Reds-and-Whites equalised in the 35th minute but five minutes later, Liverpool's lead was restored when Chiesa's shot was deflected to Harvey Elliott, who scored his second Champions League goal in consecutive games. 

And then, two quick goals (45, 45+6) from the Eredivisie leaders turned the game around for them.

No To ECOWAS

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced on Saturday they have "irrevocably" turned their backs on ECOWAS.

 

The Economic Community of West African States regional bloc had swiftly suspended the three countries after their respective military takeovers, which occurred in July 2023 in Niger, September 2022 in Burkina Faso and August 2021 in Mali. 

 

ECOWAS even imposed sanctions on Niger and Mali, and at one stage, had threatened military intervention. And yet, the regional bloc’s leaders held out hope for the trio’s eventual return. Fat chance because in January. the said countries withdrew from ECOWAS. 

 

Speaking at the summit, Niger's General Abdourahamane Tchiani called the 50-year-old ECOWAS “a threat to our states”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burkina Faso's Captain Ibrahim Traoré and Mali's Colonel Assimi Goïta met General Tchiani in Niger's capital, Niamey to formalise an alliance created in the face of opposition from neighboring countries. The three soldiers took power in their respective countries which have been battered by jihadist violence, in part a reason given for the military coups. 

 

They now establish the Alliance of Sahel States as a step “towards greater integration” between the three countries, in the latest showing of their shift away from traditional regional and Western allies.

 

The junta chiefs said they aimed to build a community of sovereign peoples "far from the control of foreign powers. A community of peace, solidarity, prosperity based on our African values”.

 

In a message on X, Capt Traoré declared that "together, we will consolidate the foundations of our true independence". 

 

Speaking at the summit, he went on to say that "this continent has suffered and continues to suffer from the fire of the imperialists. These imperialists have only one cliché in mind: 'Africa is the empire of slaves'". 

 

Security co-operation is high on the agenda, but the alliance, known by their French acronym AES, will also look towards forming closer economic ties, including the goal of creating a common currency. This would be a rejection of the France-backed CFA Franc, which is used in many states across the region. 

 

Already, the three countries have expelled French soldiers who were there supposedly as part of an anti-jihadist mission. Besides, they have regularly accused former colonial ruler France of meddling in the 15-member ECOWAS. 

 

Finally, we're seeing African countries asserting genuine independence. And I would urge countries which are under the thumb of the Western powers (e.g., Cameroon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria) to follow the three countries' example and break free!

De-dollarization is in Overdrive

Global de-dollarization is in overdrive, as countries around the world seek alternatives to the hegemony of the US dollar. 

 

Still, cocky US remains confident of its Dollar dominance. Its Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on March 23 that Russia and China have the motivation to try to develop an alternative to the US dollar but it would be "tremendously difficult" for them to do so. 

 

However, shortly thereafter, Russia publicly stated that the BRICS countries, which account for more than 40% of the world's population and nearly a quarter of global GDP, are working to develop a "new currency" and that "the transition to settlement in national currencies is the first step. The next step is to offer a new currency in circulation in the near future, digital or otherwise. It is expected that this new form of currency will be announced, possibly in August of this year". The new currency is not only tied to the value of gold but may also be tied to "rare earths or other resources". 

 

Already, Russia and China are trading in their own currencies. 

 

India officially announced that it is using multiple currencies, including the local rupee and other non-Dollar currencies, for global trade as a direct substitute for the US dollar in order to avoid volatility in the Indian currency and markets due to monetary strategies such as interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. 

 

China and Brazil – two major emerging economies and BRICS members – reportedly reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary. As reported by Agence France-Presse on March 29, citing the Brazilian government.

 

And Brazil and Argentina are planning on a common currency for the region in a bid to distance themselves from the Dollar. 

 

Meanwhile, France made baby steps to move away from the Dollar – last month, the country’s integrated energy and petroleum company TotalEnergies and China's national oil company CNOOC sealed the first ever yuan-settled energy deal involving some 65,000 tons of Emirati LNG. (My post "US Dollar Under Serious Threat" dated April 02, 2023 refers).

 

Israel is fast-forwarding its de-dollarization by selling US Treasuries and increasing its Yuan reserves. 

 

Southeast Asian nations in ASEAN are de-dollarizing their trade, promoting local payment systems. The finance ministers and governors of the central banks of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met on March 28 – and according to the news website ASEAN Briefing, at the top of their agenda were “discussions to reduce dependence on the US dollar, Euro, Yen, and British Pound from financial transactions and move to settlements in local currencies”. 

 

Kenya has signed deals with Saudi Arabia and UAE to buy oil with its local currency, Kenyan Shillings. And Ghana reportedly buys oil with gold. The Dollar is being cast aside. 

 

At least 85 countries have already begun the process of de-dollarization. As a matter of fact, whether the US wants to admit it or not, its Dollar is weakening day by day.

194 Million Cases and UK Contemplates Booster Shots

Covid refuses to be ignored as it infects countries everywhere without pause. The world is now sitting on 194 million cases.

Pakistan is country #30 to have accumulated one million cases. Psst, Malaysia is next, given our massive daily Covid numbers. We're very nearly there! 

And Ghana has joined C100K, making it country #101.

In the UK, a UCL Virus Watch study has received support from scientists – and they are backing proposals for Covid boosters beginning September, given their concerns about post-jab falls in antibodies. 

Falls in antibodies after vaccination are expected and do not necessarily mean people are more vulnerable to disease – but the researchers are concerned that if the declines persist the effectiveness of the vaccines may diminish. 

Note: While antibody levels are important for protection, the immune system has other defences that are built up after infection or vaccination. It is normal for antibody levels to wane over time and for the immune system to “remember” the infection with memory B cells. Should the virus invade, these cells rapidly churn out antibodies targeted at the virus. Further protection comes from T cells, which destroy infected cells and limit the severity of disease. 

The said study found that antibodies generated by two doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines started to wane as early as six weeks after the second shot, in some cases falling more than 50% over 10 weeks. 

A final decision on whether to proceed has not been made. 

From Scotland, Professor Eleanor Riley (left) of Edinburgh University said: “I’m not sure that we have enough data yet to say that we actually need to do boosters. We don’t know if we need them. Giving them is going to be expensive and time-consuming. But it might be better than taking the risk of not giving them”.

Indeed, it is unclear whether protection from vaccines has weakened enough to warrant boosters and there are those who argue the doses are needed more urgently in developing countries. 

Prof Matthew Snape (right), a vaccinologist at Oxford University, had this to say: “It’s clear that ongoing protection from vaccines for months to years after immunisation can’t be assumed, hence the importance of ongoing vigilance for any increase in breakthrough infections”.

Whatever one's position on this issue, Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chair of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunization maintains that the booster campaign would be an important insurance policy for vulnerable Brits.

I still maintain boosters offer only temporary protection.

19 Million Cases

Yesterday, the world hit 19 million cases. And a day earlier, the coronavirus pandemic death toll had passed 700,000. 

I suppose this is what is commonly referred to as the ‘second wave’. Again, if we examine the twelve worst-affected countries, they have combined to contribute 72.7% of the world total cases.

 

Two countries, the United States and India stuck out like sore thumbs. 

SARS-CoV-2 continues to plague the US as the number of cases went beyond 5 million. And India has become the third country to pass two million cases. 

In fact, it has taken 20 days for the country to progress from a million to two million cases. That is faster than the time the US (43 days) and Brazil (27 days) took to double from a million cases. The only saving grace is that India recorded fewer fatalities than both these countries.

I wish the country would focus on fighting Covid-19 rather than fighting China. 

Africa has a million people now been confirmed to have had the coronavirus – and 87.5% are coming from these 12 countries:

Mary Stephen, technical officer at the WHO's regional office for Africa warns: "We haven't seen the peak in Africa yet".

Africa Tops 400,000 Coronavirus Cases

Covid-19 is here to stay in Africa. 

Given the current trends in incidence – more so when the coronavirus pandemic transitions to more widespread community transmission – and underlying healthcare systems vulnerabilities, the continent is in real danger of becoming the next epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Note that it took 98 days for Africa to reach 100,000 cases – and just 18 to hit 200,000 and another 22 days to reach 400,000. On that Tuesday, the continent also registered 10,000 deaths.

It is pertinent to highlight that the twelve most-affected countries are responsible for 84.2% of Africa’s total cases; insofar as fatalities are concerned, the Top 12 contributed 87.7% of total deaths. 

Elsewhere, Pakistan garnered 200,000 cases on Sunday whilst India, Turkey and Colombia collected 600,000, 200,000 and 100,000 cases respectively on Wednesday:

It is heartening to know that Malaysia has reported positive news today with the number of active cases dipping below 100 – with 85 cases only.

200,000 Coronavirus Cases in Africa

The total number of coronavirus cases in Africa passed 200,000 yesterday, according to the World Health Organization’s office for the region. The continent had added 100,000 cases in eighteen days. 

According to the latest update by the UN health agency, 201,157 people have tested positive for the virus across the 54 countries in Africa, of whom 90,374 have recovered and 5,486 have died, the UN health agency said. 

The Top 7 African countries for confirmed cases are still the same as the list I had put out in my May 23 post (“The Covid-19 Situation in Africa”) – just that there has been a reshuffle in their positions, Nos. 3 to 7:

BTW, these seven countries constitute 72.3% of Africa’s total (or 1.9% of cases worldwide). 

Even for fatalities – where the Top 7 countries make up 81.8% of Africa’s total (or 1.1% of deaths worldwide) – it's the same seven countries as I last reported in May – except for a change in positions, Nos. 2 to 7. 

And just to compare with the Bottom 7 (i.e. the Least Affected countries):

The Covid-19 Situation in Africa

More than three months have lapsed since Egypt became the first country in Africa to confirm a coronavirus case. Since then, the outbreak has reached every nation on the continent of 1.2 billion people – with 100,666 confirmed cases and 3,105 deaths on Friday, according to Africa CDC. 

No doubt Africa recorded just a wee fraction of the world's coronavirus cases – a mere 1.9%. 

Also WHO modelling has predicted that Covid-19 would move more slowly through Africa than elsewhere. It's very comforting to know, that’s for sure.

Still, the fact remains that the virus is raging in pockets of the continent. 

And it has been hit hard by the economic fallout from global trade disruptions, falling oil and commodities prices and the lockdowns deployed to fight the disease's spread. That can be just as hurting. 

I read that the presidents of Ivory Coast, Kenya, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone on Tuesday are already complaining that wealthy countries are failing Africa, with pledges of financial support and debt relief falling well short of the continent's needs as it battles the coronavirus pandemic. 

But it’s not only Africa that is affected – but everywhere too.

Already, the global economy is shrinking by around 5%. According to World Bank estimates, up to 60 million people could be pushed below the poverty line in their latest apocalyptic prediction. 

World Bank president David Malpass (right) said they have so far loaned money for emergency programs in 100 countries, accounting for about 70% of the world’s population, in response to the coronavirus crisis. 

He said the money would “reinforce healthcare systems” as well as pay for medical equipment and supplies.

Many countries' economies are already in dire straits.

4.5 Million Cases and 300,000 Deaths

Already 4.5 million coronavirus cases worldwide and 300,000 people dead. And still counting! 

The United States is tightly holding onto its No.1 ranking for both infections and fatalities – and methinks, in 8 days or less, it will reach another grim milestone: 1.5 million cases and 100,000 deaths. Donald Trump is doing a swell job to keep Americans safe!

Meanwhile, Russia has a quarter of a million cases on Thursday – but daily new infections thankfully fell below 10,000 for the first time:

The other hotspot, Brazil has surpassed 200,000 cases on the same day too: 

Yesterday, Africa registered more than 70,000 coronavirus infections and its death toll is almost hitting 2,500:

It is not too worrisome a situation just yet because the 7 countries (out of a tally of 54) most affected by Covid-19 in terms of cumulative case numbers together account for 68.7% of the total in the continent:

Covid-19 is Still Very Much a Serious Threat

Two Wednesdays ago, WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (left) had said the Covid-19 pandemic in western Europe appeared to be easing off. 

But he saw worrying upward trends in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa, although their numbers are still fairly low. 

Based on statista.com numbers, as at May 06, 2020, my calculations are that Latin America is likely to have at least 280,000 confirmed cases and 15,000 deaths. 

And CGTN Africa today reported that there are already about 52,000 cases in the said continent and 2,000 deaths.

Elsewhere, on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and UAE documented 30,251, 30,009 and 15,192 confirmed cases respectively.

Also, on the same day, 514 and 503 people died in Pakistan and Denmark respectively.

And on the following day, Iran surged past 100,000 cases.

Indeed, Covid-19 is still very much a serious threat.