Does 1 in 5 South African kids miss breakfast, as an ad said?
Emphasising the importance of a healthy breakfast, a margarine brand claimed that one in five South African children doesn’t eat one.
unproven
Tag: children
downplayed
Are fewer than 6,000 babies born HIV+ every year in SA, as Zuma said?
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma highlighted the success of his administration’s HIV policies in parliament recently. Does official data back up his claim that fewer than 6,000 babies are born HIV+ every year?
checked
Can marijuana cure measles? No evidence for Kenyan claim
Children as young as 2 in Kenya are having marijuana blown into their faces and ears as a supposed cure for measles. Does it work? Africa Check cleared the smoke.
incorrect
Levels of child sexual abuse in South Africa even higher than activist claimed
A South African activist said in radio interview that a quarter of girls and 17% of boys would be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This turned out to be an underestimate.
Blog post: My top 3 for 2016: Activist ‘facts’, press freedom truths & a complex Clinton claim
Great fact-checks puncture myths with rigour, but also in a way that reshapes the public debate by focusing on the true scale of a particular issue, argues our head of health and information service, Vinayak Bhardwaj. He presents his three “favourites” from 2016.
checked
Chill, Mzansi – the boy’s name is Jake Amo and he’s from Ghana
A picture of little Jake Amo drawing in his Ghanaian classroom has flooded the internet as a meme. Not everyone is amused, though.
incorrect
Statistic that a child goes missing every 5 hours in SA incorrect
A much circulated statistic claims that a child goes missing every 5 hours in South Africa but it is based on outdated data.
unproven
No data shows 1 in 10 African girls miss school because of menstruation
A number of small studies have been conducted in African countries on the effect of menstruation on girls’ school attendance. But the situation across the continent remains unknown.
incorrect
Number of HIV+ babies born in SA less than half UK Guardian’s figure
An old figure quoted by the UK’s Guardian newspaper overstates the share of HIV+ mothers transmitting the virus to their babies in South Africa.
Does an African child die from malaria every 30 seconds?
Earlier this year a science news website claimed that an African child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. But the latest and best estimate shows that it is just under every two minutes.