US Map Mislabels Every African Country at AIDS Event

A US government map of Africa that labelled every country incorrectly appeared during a State Department presentation at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, prompting screenshots to be shared widely online.

Reuters reviewed a video of the session showing the erroneous map being displayed partway through a talk about the State Department’s new health agreements. Conference attendees circulated images of the slide after spotting the mistakes.

State Department Says Full Responsibility Was Taken

In a statement, the State Department said it took “full responsibility” for the confusion and misrepresentation caused for attendees, including its African partners.

The department said the map had been produced by a team member who made last-minute changes to the slide deck before the event.

The mislabelled map placed Nigeria, where the United States has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara desert. Mozambique, in south-eastern Africa, was shown in the Horn of Africa. Côte d’Ivoire was also placed on the wrong side of the continent.

Reuters said screenshots of the image first appeared in a Substack post by AIDS expert Emily Bass and were subsequently shared on LinkedIn. One post attracted about 40,000 views.

Picture courtesy of Reuters

Map Included AI Watermark, OpenAI Says It Is Checking

Reuters found that the version of the map shown in the presentation included an artificial intelligence watermark indicating it had been generated using OpenAI tools. OpenAI said it was investigating the report.

The conference speaker was Jeff Graham, the top US health envoy who oversees the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, known as PEPFAR. Graham did not respond to requests for comment.

In an online post, Matt Petit, who covers AI and geopolitics for the Atlantic Council, said the slide that was used and approved did not reflect correct knowledge of where African countries are located.

US Aid Discussion Continues, Department Says

Despite the map, the State Department said discussions at the conference were substantive and constructive, and that it remained focused on tackling HIV and Aids with what it described as real results.

The Trump administration paused funding last year pending a review, disrupting aid programmes worldwide. PEPFAR’s core work, including supplying life-saving drugs, has largely resumed, the State Department said. It added that the US is scaling back other areas of spending, including prevention and surveillance, and plans to fully phase out the programme in South Africa.

The episode drew attention to an apparent failure in the preparation of conference materials, after attendees shared the incorrect map and its displayed country placements.

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31 July 2026

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