On October 3, 2023 a consortium of media and civil society organizations held the first round of Presidential Elections Debate at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia. At the debate, the presidential candidate of the Grassroot Development Movement, Mr. Edward Appleton claimed that Liberia spends about 9% of its GDP on health, adding that five women die every day during childbirth.
Mr. Appleton made the first claim while discussing the state of the country’s healthcare system and his proposal to fix the problem.
Claim #1: We (Liberia) spends about 9% of its GDP on Health
Verdict: Mostly Correct
To fact check this claim, we first checked the Ministry of Health’s website but did not see any information on how much is spent on health per the country’s GDP.
So, we conducted multiple online searches. Our search found the World Health Organization’s health data overview for the Republic of Liberia. On the web page, there are information about the country’s population and current health expenditure percentage of the country’s GDP.
The data shows that Liberia’s current health expenditure accounts for 8% of the country’s GDP as of 2019.
We also found statistics from the Index Mundi an online data portal, the site has a chart of Liberia health expenditure percentage of the country’s GDP from 2000 to 2019.
The chart shows that Liberia current health expenditure accounts for 8.47% of the country’s GDP. There are no credible statistics on the country’s health expenditure as it relates to the percent of GDP for the year 2023.
Conclusion
Based on these facts, we therefore conclude that presidential candidate Edward Appleton’s claim that Liberia spends 9% of its GDP on health is mostly correct. Statistics from WHO and Index Mundi shows that the country current health expenditure accounts for 8% of the country’s GDP.
Claim #2: In Liberia, four women die every day in childbirth.
Verdict: Incorrect
Also, at the Presidential Debate, Mr. Appleton claimed that four women die every day in childbirth. His exact words were: “In Liberia four women die every day in childbirth”.
To fact check this claim, we first reviewed the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey report 2019-2020. On page 286 of the report, there are statistics of all maternal related death of females age 15-49 years.
The chart shows that there were 92 maternal deaths in 2019-2020. Maternal mortality ratio on page 287 of the report is at 742 deaths per very 1,000.
By calculation of the maternal mortality ratio in the LDHS 2019-2020, 742 deaths divided by the 365 days is 2.03.This means that there were 2.03 maternal deaths every day, according to data from the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey 2019-2020.
We also found Liberia Gender Landscape Brief on the World Bank Gender Data Portal which says that 652 women die per every 100, 000 live births due to pregnancy related causes in Liberia as of 2020.
To find the number of women who die in child birth every day, we also divided the 652 deaths by 365 days which makes a leap year. We got 1.78. This means that there were 1.78 deaths every day according to the statistics from the World Bank.
According to the World Bank maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per every 100, 000 live births.
Conclusion
Based on these facts, we therefore conclude that the claim made by Presidential candidate Edward Appleton of the Grassroot Development Movement that 4 women die from childbirth is incorrect. Data from the Liberia Demographic and Health Survey and the World Bank show that at least 2 women die every day from childbirth in Liberia.
This report was developed with the support of Internews through the USAID Media Activity project. The funder has no say in the editorial decision leading to the production of this content.
