Liberia’s National AIDS and STI Control Program has declared a widely shared social media list purporting to name communities with the highest HIV rates false, saying the document did not originate from any official health agency and warning that it fuels dangerous stigma.
Program Manager Dr. Jonathan Flomo made the clarification on the Ministry of Health’s Roadway to Health program on state broadcaster ELBC. He said the ministry has never released a community-by-community breakdown of HIV data and reiterated that no institution under the ministry produced the circulating list.
“The list is fake,” Dr. Flomo said. “No institution under the Ministry of Health has ever produced a community breakdown of HIV data. We would never do so because such practices violate ethical standards and fuel discrimination rather than encourage care.”
The viral posts singled out Duport Road in Paynesville and other neighbourhoods, prompting panic and embarrassment among residents, the ministry said. Dr. Flomo warned that labeling entire communities with a disease on the basis of unverified claims damages people socially and economically and discourages testing and treatment.
“Stigma is a barrier that kills,” he said. “When people feel judged or targeted, they avoid health centers, they avoid treatment, and they suffer in silence. That is why we consistently warn the public not to weaponize HIV to shame neighborhoods.”
Dr. Flomo urged Liberians to rely on credible, authorized sources for health information and to report false material. He reminded the public that an estimated 36,000 people are living with HIV in Liberia and that more than 31,000 are receiving treatment and responding well — progress that could be undermined if misinformation widens fear and silence.
