Fact Checks

On 28 December 2020, the government owned media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate released a news item quoting Ethiopian Minister of Health, Lia Tadesse (M.D) who said “More than 32 million citizens have benefited from health insurance Ethiopia.” in a panel discussion aimed at increasing COVID19 awareness and health insurance coverage in the Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. Considering the gravity of the claim, Addis Zeybe’s HaqCheck set out to understand the details of the claim made by the Minister of Health of Ethiopia. 

Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that typically pays for medical, surgical, prescription drug and sometimes dental expenses incurred by the insured. It is a system where individuals or households pay small contributions or prepayments to get health services at the time of illness and to protect them from catastrophic health expenditures. Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency was established as an autonomous federal organ through Regulation No. 191/2010 issued by the council of ministers.

Addis Zeybe has contacted the Ethiopian health insurance agency and talked with Eyob Gelaye (Senior public relation officer) about the current status of health insurance in Ethiopia. As Eyob said, the agency is working on implementation of two types of health insurance systems in the country;

The first one is the Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI), which is a system that is designed to minimize the pressure of health-related expenses upon parts of the community who are involved in the informal economy sector and to prevent their fall into poverty. CBHI primarily covers essential health service packages at the healthcenter level. The benefits include both inpatient and outpatient services. All types of essential health services that would be covered through out-of-pocket spending at time of sickness are covered by CBHI.

The second type  of insurance is the Social Health Insurance (SHI), which comprises the population engaged in the formal sectors of the economy. SHI has been widely implemented in many European, Asian and African countries for years. 

Eyob also clarifies that CBHI is being implemented in 770 Woredas and has 23 branches, adding, more than  32 million community members (which is around 29% of the population) benefited from the Insurance scheme. The beneficiaries are involved in the informal economy system. More than 6.5 million of those who were registered in the health insurance system were people who could not afford to pay for their health insurance and the government has covered their expenses. 

Addis Zeybe also asked about social health insurance which Eyob said there is no specific date for it’s implementation but there have been some discussions and long term plans to start the program in Ethiopia.

According to Medic east africa – an organization focusing on health care and organizing events in 11 countries – Rwanda has the highest enrolment in health insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa, which covers over 75% of the population (9.6 million out of 12.8 million). Kenya also has 56% coverage which is around 25.7 million of the population. 

On 12 January 2020 a facebook post by the Ethiopian Press Agency/The Ethiopian Herald (a facebook page with 39,253 followers) shared the image below with the claim that traffic is back to normal in Mekelle. It interviewed Ataklti Haileselassie, interim mayor of Mekelle city before stating that traffic has been restored following the arrest news of senior TFLF leaders. However, HaqCheck has interrogated the post and confirmed that the image doesn’t show traffic returning back to normal in Mekele rating it as FALSE.

Since 4 November 2020 there has been armed fighting between the TPLF-led regional forces and Federal government-led forces in Tigray. The federal government has controlled the regional capital city, Mekelle on December 28, 2020. It has also recently announced that it was rapidly capturing senior civil and military officers of the TPLF. Some of the senior civil and military leaders of the TPLF-led force have also been arrested. It is also true that upon controlling the capital of Tigray on 28 November 2020, Ataklti Hailesillase was appointed as the interim mayor of Mekele by the Provisional Interim Government of Tigray.

In this context, the facebook post by the state news outlet emerged claiming traffic has returned to normal following the capture of senior TPLF leaders. However, a google reverse image search of the picture doesn’t show the scenes in Mekelle. To the contrary the picture was taken 15 years ago. The image which depicts a street in the heart of the city was taken in Mekelle city on 12 March 2006 and first published on Wikimedia Commons, an online file-sharing platform on 17 January 2007. The original post related to the image can be accessed with the following link.

Granted, there are claims by the government the war is over and former TPLF leaders are indeed being captured at the time the facebook post was shared. However, HaqCheck has interrogated the post and confirmed that the image doesn’t show traffic being back to normal in Mekelle city and therefore rated it as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking initiative, which is run by its R&D Department.

On 6 January 2020 a facebook post by the name Tigray Defence Force (a page with 16,780 followers) shared an image that shows numerous soldiers and tanks with the claim that Sudanese army captured Ethiopian troops who had been carrying out military offences against the Sudanese soldiers. The text which is written in Tigrinya and English reads “The Sudanese army captured the invading force of the Ethiopian Defence Force that crossed the Sudanese boundary and opened attacks in two fronts”. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below doesn’t show Ethiopian soldiers captured by the Sudanese army along the Ethio-Sudan borders during the current armed clashes at the time the post was shared. Therefore, HaqCheck has rendered the post as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Granted, there have been armed clashes around the Ethio-Sudanese border since recently. The Sudan Armed Forces stated that they reclaimed territory in the Salam Bir and Mahaj areas in El Gedaref from the Ethiopian army and armed militias. On 31 December 2020 Omar Qamareddine, Sudanese foreign minister declared restoration and full control over all territories along the Ethio-Sudanese border that had been taken over by Ethiopian farmers. The countries have been in talks and negotiations to settle the issue and demarcate the boundary in spite of it being in vain.

It is in this context that the image was shared claiming the Sudanese army captured Ethiopian troops who had been undergoing military offences against Sudanese soldiers. However, a reverse image search of the picture used in the facebook post doesn’t show Ethiopian forces captured by the Sudanese army during the current armed conflict along the border. The image was first posted on Hawar News Agency on 18 December 2020 with a text that claims Sudanese army has controlled all disputed territories including the Abu Toyor mountain along the Ethio-Sudan border areas. But the original article doesn’t have any description about the image nor tell who the people in the image are. The original post related to the image can be with the following link.

It is true that there have been armed conflicts along the border areas between Ethiopian and Sudanese forces. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below doesn’t show Ethiopian troops who were captured by the Sudanese army during the current armed conflict along the border, therefore, rendering the post as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

This article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking initiative, which is run by its R&D Department.

On 5 January 2020 a facebook post by the name Selam Nkulu (an account with 3,542 friends) was shared with an image that shows a troop in a small fortification with food and sleeping materials with the claim that Sudanese soldiers have come with their beds to the forts during the ongoing armed conflict between Ethiopia and Sudan along the borders. The text which is written in Amharic reads “the Sudaneses have come with their beds to the forts. If the EPLF [Eritrea] and men of scarf [Amhara regional forces] see this, they could begin the battle today. Ohhh you Sudaneses have a seat and enjoy the food”. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below doesn’t show Sudanese soldiers who have come with their beds to the fortress along the Ethio-Sudan borders during the current armed clashes. Therefore, HaqCheck has rendered the post as SATIRE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Granted, there have been armed clashes around the Ethio-Sudanese border since recently. On 31 December 2020 Omar Qamareddine, Sudanese foreign minister declared restoration and full control over all territories along the Ethio-Sudanese border that had been taken over by Ethiopian farmers. Reports have been released that Sudan has been deploying its troops to the border areas amid the clashes around the border. Ambassador Dina Mufti, spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a A press briefing on 29 December 2020 stated that starting from 9 November 2020 there were organized attacks by the Sudanese Military Forces using heavy machine guns and armoured convoy adding agricultural products of Ethiopian farmers had been looted, camps had been vandalized, farmers had been hampered from harvesting their own farms and  a number of civilians have been murdered and wounded. The two sides issued a joint communiqué agreeing to submit reports to the leadership of the two countries and decided to start the border demarcation process as soon as possible.

It is in this context that the image was shared claiming the soldiers in the image are Sudanese troops who have come with their beds to the battleground along the Ethio- Sudanese border areas. However, a reverse image search of the picture used in the facebook post shows that the image is not of the recent armed conflict between Ethiopian and Sudanese forces. The image was first posted on facebook on 30 May 2020 with a text that claims armed clashes erupted between Ethiopian and Sudanese forces along the bordering territories. The original post related to the image can be with the following link.

It is true that there have been armed conflicts along the border areas between Ethiopian and Sudanese forces. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below that shows troops in a small fortification with sleeping facilities and food doesn’t relate to the recent armed clash between Sudan and Ethiopia, therefore, rendering the post as SATIRE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

This article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking initiative, which is run by its R&D Department.

On December 30, 2020 a facebook post by the name Tirhas Tesfay shared the image below with the claim an Eritrean troop stole Tihlo from Adigrat, Tigray. The text of the post which is written in Tigrinya reads “ Breaking news: I saw an Eritrean soldier looting Tihlo in Adigrat with my eyes…” Tihlo, a dish which is made from barley flour, is a traditional food in North-Eastern Tigray and Southern Eritrea. The post became viral on facebook and at the time of achieving 184 users have shared it. However, HaqCheck has interrogated the post and confirmed that the image doesn’t show an Eritrean troop who stole Tihlo from Adigrat and rated it as SATIRE.

Since november 4, 2020 there has been armed fighting between TPLF-led regional forces and Federal government-led forces in Tigray. Following the instabilities there have been allegations and unproven reports that Eritrean troops have been involved in the war supporting Prime Minister  Abiy Ahmed’s administration. Additionally , many claim that Eritrean soldiers are looting in Tigray amid the war.

In this context the facebook post emerged claiming the man in the image is an Eritrean troop who looted Tihlo in Adigrat. However, a google reverse image search of the picture doesn’t prove the claim. The image was first published by Nairobi News, a news and media outlet in Kenya with a man’s story. The man in the image (captured by a photographer, Evans Habil) is a Kenyan who rescued his ugali (Kenyan porridge) from his house while the government was demolishing illegal houses in Nairobi county. The story of the man published on Nairobi News can be accessed with the following link.

Granted, there have been allegations and unproven claims of Eritrean army involvement in the war and lootings amid the conflict in Tigray at the time the facebook post was shared. However, HaqCheck has interrogated the post and confirmed that the image doesn’t show an Eritrean soldier stealing Tihlo from Adigrat, therefore, rated as SATIRE due to inaccurate usage of the image.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking initiative, which is run by its R&D Department.

On 30 December 2020 a facebook user by the name Mahder Kiya ማህደር ቅያ (with 10,637 followers) posted the picture below of an ural truck and a soldier with the claim that the TPLF-led forces destroyed a brigade of the Ethiopia Defense Force on its way from Adwa to Hawzen. The text which is written in Tigrinya reads “…. a brigade of the 33th division was stricken and fully ambushed by while on a move from Adwa to Hawzen via Edaga Arbi and 144 soldiers and all military officers were captured….” However, Haqcheck interrogated the case and confirmed that the picture doesn’t show TPLF-led forces that destroyed the fourth brigade of the Ethiopian defense force in the current conflict in Tigray, rendering the verdict FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Granted, there has been an ongoing conflict in the Tigray region between the Federal government and the TPLF-led Tigray special police force and militia since 4 November 2020. The federal government declared that the war is over while also identifying hunting TPLF leadership who are still at large as its next step. Despite the claim of the federal government, unproven reports suggest that the war between the federal and regional forces is still going on. 

It is in this context that the post was shared by the user making strong allegations that the TPLF-led regional force ambushed the brigade and captured all the soldiers and firearms. However a reverse image search of the picture used in the post doesn’t show the forces that ambushed the fourth brigade and captured all the soldiers and firearms. The image was first published on 7 November 2020 by a facebook page called TPLF Hawelti with a statement that states Tigray is equipped with modern firearms unlike the past and will prevail on its enemies who dare to wage war on Tigray. The original post can be accessed with the following link.

Image 1: Cropped Image 

Image 2: Original Image (TPLF Hawelti)

Granted, there have been unproven reports that the war between the federal and regional forces is still ongoing. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below doesn’t prove the claim that the TPLF-led forces ambushed the fourth brigade of the Ethiopian Defense Force in Tigray. It has therefore rendered the post FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking running in five languages (Affan Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Tigrinya and English)

There was a facebook post by a page named Waan Ofii (a page with over 39,000 followers) on 29 November 2020 claiming that a large number of well armed sudannese force are advancing to the Ethiopian border. HaqCheck has interrogated the post and confirmed it is False due to the usage of inaccurate pictures to support the claim.

Granted, there have been armed clashes around the Ethio-Sudanese border in recent periods. On 17 December 2020 the Sudanese army claimed control of the undemarcated territories that borders Ethiopia and Sudan and It was reported on different media outlets that Sudan is deploying its military and Sudanese troops are marching towards the Ethio-Sudan border. A press briefing was given on 29 December 2020 by Dina Mufti (H.E. Ambassador  Spokesperson of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia) about the recent situation over the Ethiopian – Sudanese border and the current status on both sides. He stated that starting from 9 November 2020 there were organized attacks by the Sudanese Military Forces using heavy machine guns and armoured convoy adding agricultural products of Ethiopian farmers are looted, camps are vandalized, farmers are hampered from harvesting their own farms and  a number of civilians have been murdered and wounded. The two sides issued a joint communiqué agreeing to submit reports to the leadership of the two countries and decided to start the border demarcation process as soon as possible.

However a reverse image search of the picture shows that the picture, that was used in the facebook post to support the claim that the sudanees army is advancing to Ethiopian border, was first published on 06 July 2018 by a Turkish news website called Haber7.com stating that the Yemeni army controlled some areas in the north part of the country.

 

Granted there has been conflict between Ethiopia and Sudan military force on Ethio-sudanese border. However HaqCheck has interrogated the post and confirmed that the picture used to support the claim that Sudanese army is advancing Ethiopia is not related to the current situation in the Ethio-sudanese border, rating the post False due to the inaccuracy of the picture.

 

Fact Checked by: Rehobot Ayalew

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking running in five languages (Affan Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Tigrinya and English)

On 26 December 2020 a facebook user by the name ኣርሓ ወያናይ ተጋሩ (with 5,000 friends) posted the picture below of two men with the claim that they were killed by Eritrean soldiers in Tigray. The text which is written in Tigrinya reads “…. Ohhh offspring of beasts! Eritrean soldiers executed these two innocent men in Tigray…. Injustice never seen anywhere in the world!” However, Haqcheck interrogated the case and confirmed that the picture doesn’t show two men being executed by Eritrean soldiers in Tigray, rendering the verdict FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Granted, there has been an ongoing conflict in the Tigray region between the Federal government and the TPLF led Tigray special police force and militia since 4 November 2020. There have also been allegations and unproven reports claiming Eritrean soldiers have been involved in the military operation in Tigray supporting the federal government. Despite these claims however, the ethiopian government has repeatedly denied that Eritrean forces were involved in the military operation.

It is in this context that the post was shared by the user making strong allegations that the individuals in the picture were killed by Eritrean troops in Tigray amid the current conflict in the region. However a reverse image search of the picture used in the post shows that it was first published on 30 November 2017 by a twitter user called awaale afcad on Twitter with the caption “In Libya”. The picture was posted with three other images. The original post can be accessed with the following link.

Image 1: Doctored Image 

Image 2: Original Image (awaale afcad)

Granted, there have been allegations and unproven reports that Eritrea was involved in the armed conflict between TPLF-led regional forces and federal government-led forces. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below that shows two men doesn’t prove the claim that they were killed by Eritrean soldiers in Tigray, therefore, rendering the post as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking running in five languages (Affan Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Tigrinya and English)

On 28 December 2020 a facebook post by the name Afmeer tv. (a page with 224,661 followers) was shared with an image that shows a military single-cabin pickup vehicle and troops and a claim that the Somali special police force and Afar regional forces are in a fierce fight along the border around Sitti [formerly known as Shinile zone]. The post claims that there is heavy loss inflicted on the Afar regional forces and three civilian Somalis were killed and two injured.

However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below that shows troops doesn’t relate to the conflict and that the recent armed clashes between the Somali and Afar regional forces, therefore, rendered the post as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Translated-post:

 

The Afars and Issa Somalis have been in conflict since decades ago due to various factors. There have been inter-communal conflicts in the border areas, particularly Shinile zone, one of the nine zones of Somali regional state, and Gabi Rasu and Awsirasu zones of the Afar regional state. The contested territories, Unduffo, Gedamaytu, and Adaytu towns, are within the two Afar zones. Land claims and conflicts arise recurrently due to many Issa Somalis residing in urban centers of Gabi Rasu and Awsirasu zones, within the Afar regional state. The Somali and Afar regional states agreed and signed a peace deal, initiated by the then prime minister to demarcate boundaries between them as a permanent solution to the Afar – Issa inter-communal conflict in 2014. Accordingly the three conflict areas incorporated into the Afar regional state as a special kebeles of the Issa community; Gedamaytu integrated to Amibara woreda, Undufo to Gewane woreda and Adaytu to Mille woreda. However, in May 2019 the Somali regional state unilaterally nullified and withdrew from the border demarcation deal refusing to give up three kebeles to Afar regional state and labeling it unconstitutional and imposition on the will of the local population. There have reportedly been fresh armed clashes between the two regional forces two months ago and 27 people were killed. 

It is in this context that a post has emerged with an image that depicts troops claiming there is a fresh armed conflict and the Somali and Afar regional forces are in a fierce fight along the border areas. However, a reverse image search of the image used in the facebook post shows that the picture is not of a recent conflict between the two regional states. The image was first posted on facebook on May 4, 2019 with a text that conflicts had been going between the regional forces and can be with the following link.

Original Image:

Granted, there have been decades-long conflicts along the Afar and Somali regional state borders. However, HaqCheck has interogetted the claim and confirmed that the image below that shows a vehicle with troops on board doesn’t relate to the recent armed clash between the Somali and Afar regional forces, therefore, rendering the post as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking initiative, which is run by its R&D Department.

On 22 December 2020 a tweet by the name 🌡#𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏_𝐀𝐌𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀_𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐃𝐄 (a twitter account with 3,582 followers) emerged posting three images that show a man and traditional weapons with the claim that the weapons were found in the house of the Dibate woreda (in Metekel zone of Benishangul Gumuz regional state) administrator and were stored in his houses for the purpose of attacking Amharas in the area. The text which is written in Amharic reads “…. he is Debeli Belgafo and he got the favor to come to Metekel for administrative position because he massacred many people when he was the administrator of Dibate woreda…. These weapons (prepared to be used to mass kill Amharas) were found in his house when the house was raided.” However, HaqCheck has interogetted the images and confirmed that the pictures of billhooks don’t show weapons found in the Dibate woreda administrator’s house and, therefore, rendered the post as FALSE due to the usage of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

There have been conflicts and displacements in the Metekel zone of Benishangul Gumuz regional state. As inter-communal conflicts in the zone and surrounding areas are aggravated, Benishangul Gumuz and Amhara regional governments blamed each other. On 22 December 2020 Prime minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), Minister of Peace Muffriat Kamil, army Chief of Staff General Berhanu Jula, and Benishangul Gumuz region President Ashadli Hassan visited the area and held discussions with residents of Metekel Zone to resolve the security deterioration in the area. According to the Amhara Mass Media Agency a severe ethnic-based mass killing has occurred on December 23, 2020 in Bikuji kebele of Bulen woreda and  houses were set on fire.

Amid the inter-ethnic conflict and security crisis in the Metekel zone of Benishangul Gumuz regional state a tweet which claims the weapons in the image were found in the house of the Dibate woreda administrator and being stored for the massacre of Amharas appeared. However, reverse image searches of the pictures used in the tweet don’t support the claim made by the twitter account. The first image that depicts many billhooks was first published in a facebook post by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation on 21 September 2019 with information that the 2,765 weapons were seized in Debre Birhan. The weapons were seized from an Isuzu when on the way from Dessie to Addis Ababa. The original post can be accessed with the following link.

The second image was first published on 26 November 2020 on facebook by a name Debre Markos ዴንማርክ with the claim that the weapons were found in the house of a wealthy man who is among those who were involved in mass killings in Chagni. The post can be accessed with the following link. But, HaqCheck couldn’t find out the identity of the man in the image and prove and/or disprove whether he is the person claimed in the text or not.

 

Original Image One:

Original Image Two:

Granted, there have been inter-communal conflicts and following security deteriorations in the Metekel zone of the Benishangul Gumuz. However, HaqCheck has interrogated the images in the tweet and rated it as FALSE due to the usage of inaccurate images to support the claim.

Fact Checked by: Hagos Gebreamlak

Edited by: Bruck Negash Teame

The following article is part of HaqCheck, Addis Zeybe’s multilingual fact checking initiative, which is run by its R&D Department.