2014 in review: Ebola, Boko Haram, elections and dodgy data

From the Boko Haram insurgency and the nightmare of Ebola, to quack cures and dodgy data, Africa Check fact-checked dozens of claims in several African countries this year.
From the Boko Haram insurgency and the nightmare of Ebola, to quack cures and dodgy data, Africa Check fact-checked dozens of claims in several African countries this year.
Ghanaian officials have publicly disagreed over the readiness of the country to contain Ebola at its borders. Africa Check investigated, and found government claims of preparedness to be false.
The West African Ebola epidemic, the worst in the history of the disease, has focused international attention on sub-Saharan Africa in 2014 – and rightly so, given the virulence and rapid spread of the virus. Yet other deaths in the region dwarf those of the virus.
A Nigerian professor has claimed that eye drops made from an extract of the bitter kola tree can treat glaucoma. The evidence is questionable.
What is Ebola? Who is at risk? How is it diagnosed? How does it spread? How are patients treated? What controls the spread? This factsheet has the answers.
A medical professor has told the Nigerian press that drinking a concoction made of the ewedu plant can prevent and cure Ebola. Her claim is not supported by the available evidence.
Will bathing in hot water and salt save you from Ebola? Or an impressive sounding substance called ‘nano-silver’? These measures are exploitative hoaxes.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest recorded to date. What is Ebola, how does it kill and what can be done to stop it?