According to the Global Livability Index, numerous African cities face significant challenges, including continuous economic pressures, rising insecurity, and under-resourced healthcare and education systems.

Cities like Lagos and Port Harcourt in Nigeria are grappling with overcrowding, inadequate healthcare, and increasing crime rates. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, suffers from hyperinflation and failing infrastructure.

The report assesses various factors affecting the quality of life in urban areas. Stability considers crime rates and civil unrest, while healthcare is evaluated based on the availability and quality of health services. Furthermore, the culture and environment category measures climate and recreation, and education focuses on access to schooling. Infrastructure evaluates transport, housing, and connectivity.

Overall, the livability rankings show that African cities, like Algiers and Tripoli, also struggle with severe challenges. For example, Libya's Tripoli faces ongoing conflict repercussions while Algiers deals with weak economic structures. Inadequate infrastructure and poor housing conditions exacerbate these issues.

Here’s a snapshot of the ten most difficult cities to live in according to the index:

1. Caracas, Venezuela

2. Kyiv, Ukraine

3. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

4. Harare, Zimbabwe

5. Lagos, Nigeria

6. Algiers, Algeria

7. Karachi, Pakistan

8. Dhaka, Bangladesh

9. Tripoli, Libya

10. Damascus, Syria

This ranking reveals just how significant the disparities are in global living conditions, particularly in war-torn or economically-strapped nations.

As he puts it, his mission is to shed light on what many prefer to ignore: “What happens in the Amazon affects the entire planet”. With COP-30 approaching in Belém, his reporting feels more urgent than ever.

Covering these regions often means long hours on the road, limited connectivity, and working with minimal equipment. Yet, for Adriano, the effort is worth it if it means amplifying local voices that are too often left out of national and international conversations.

The report, released recently, states that gold smuggled from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and possibly Sudan and Ethiopia , is routinely routed through Kenya before being exported, primarily to Dubai.

“Part of the gold that is smuggled out of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and, to a lesser extent, Ethiopia, and possibly Sudan, passes through Kenya before being re-exported,” the report states. “Most of the gold that is smuggled out of Kenya is shipped to Dubai and declared for import there.”

SwissAid estimates that illicit gold flows from Kenya exceed two tonnes annually. In contrast, Kenya officially declared only 672 kilograms of gold exports in 2023. The report notes that most of the gold entering Kenya is not declared for export but later appears in import records in destination countries, Kenyans.co.ke reports.

“In other words, one can be confident about the existence of sizeable outbound illicit gold flows because this gold resurfaces further down along the value chain and becomes visible there through official statistics,” the report says.

SwissAid also found inconsistencies between Kenya’s declared gold production and the import records of countries receiving gold from Kenya.

The report indicates that gold imports declared by other countries have consistently exceeded Kenya’s reported production and imports since 2019.

“Undeclared production from Kenyan ASM (artisanal and small-scale mining) is smuggled out of the country and reaches mainly the United Arab Emirates, possibly also Uganda and Tanzania,” the report says.

According to the March 2025 Women’s Choice survey conducted by BusinessDay, the vast majority of respondents expressed a profound lack of confidence in existing laws meant to protect victims of sexual harassment.

Many described the legal framework as ineffective or completely unknown to them, with several admitting they had never heard of key legislation like the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2018.

The survey, which aimed to gauge public sentiment on Nigeria’s response to sexual harassment, exposed a chilling pattern of silence, fear, and systemic failure. Respondents shared personal stories from diverse environments, workplaces, schools, markets, political spaces, private homes, and even online platforms, reinforcing the reality that sexual harassment is not confined to any single setting or demographic.

Despite the frequency of these encounters, only a small fraction of victims reported the incidents. The reasons for this silence were alarmingly consistent: fear of stigma, victim-blaming, retaliation, and an overwhelming lack of trust in the justice system.

“The feeling that nothing will be done and that there will be retaliation,” one respondent shared . Another added, “You hear things like, ‘What were you wearing?’ or ‘What were you doing there?’ and it shuts you down.”

Many respondents pointed to societal norms that trivialise harassment, especially when the perpetrator holds a position of power. Nigeria’s cultural values, they noted, often silence women and make it difficult for victims to come forward without facing judgment or disbelief.

“For many, the risk of coming forward outweighs the hope of getting justice,” the report concluded.

The investigation was launched after actress and filmmaker Judith Godrèche publicly accused two French directors of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager. Her testimony prompted lawmakers to launch an inquiry into the culture of abuse within the industry.

Led by Sandrine Rousseau, a Member of Parliament of the Europe Ecology – The Greens (EELV), the commission’s report highlights persistent abuse across multiple artistic disciplines. “Violence in the sectors studied, namely cinema, audiovisual, theater, dance, and music mainly, is persistent, it is endemic, and therefore, it is systemic. It is of any moral nature, sexist, sexual, economic, or physical,” Rousseau said.

The report criticises the entertainment industry as a “talent grinding machine” and includes 86 recommendations aimed at strengthening protections for performers, particularly children, on film and theatre sets, as reported by AFP.

The findings come shortly after the high-profile sexual assault trial of actor Gérard Depardieu—a significant moment in France’s reckoning with abuse in the entertainment world in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

"In the latest study, working Kenyans are less satisfied with their overall financial situation than they were in 2023. Less than 3 in 10 are satisfied. 47% agree (strongly or slightly) that financial stress is badly affecting their mental health," the report indicates.

Notably, 47% of those surveyed reported that financial stress negatively impacts their mental health, compounded by the financial obligations they face from dependents.

The impact of this financial strain is evident, as 70% of Kenyans find themselves without emergency savings by the end of each month. Yet, amid these challenges, a notable 60% of individuals maintain an optimistic outlook regarding their financial prospects in the coming six months.

The primary drivers of this dissatisfaction include an inability to meet basic needs, rising living costs, sluggish business performance, unstable financial situations, and difficulties in saving.

The research focuses on employed adults aged 20 to 59, earning at least Sh12,000 (about $92.84 US), representing about 63% of the population aged 15 to 64.

"63 per cent from a personal perspective, Kenyans remain optimistic, as 6 in 10 working Kenyans expect their financial situation to improve in the next 6 months," the report says.

Old Mutual is a pan-African investment, savings, insurance, and banking group.

“We’ve always known that there’s a cost to the persistent stereotypical media narratives about Africa. Now we’re able to put an actual figure to it,” said Moky Makura, executive director of Africa No Filter. “The scale of these figures underscores the urgent need to challenge [these] negative stereotypes about Africa and promote a more balanced narrative.”

Biased reporting on African elections

The report emphasises that global media coverage of African elections is particularly problematic, often focusing on conflict, corruption, poverty, and poor leadership. This portrayal creates a significant gap between perceived and actual investment risks, further reducing Africa’s attractiveness to international investors.

African elections are frequently covered with an overemphasis on violence and fraud, while positive stories about progress and development are often ignored, the study indicates.

“Typically, election coverage is narrowly focused on the horse race between the incumbent and main opposition party or parties. In Africa, it is often peppered with stories of election violence and rumours of corruption,” Makura explained. “The fixation on election drama rather than the issues at stake is sometimes driven by the desire for headline-grabbing stories. It’s easier to sell stories about tainted politicians and violent clashes than it is to dig into healthcare reform or job creation policies.”

Africa vs. the ‘Rest of the World’

The study highlights stark disparities in media coverage between African and non-African countries with similar political and socioeconomic conditions. For example, Malaysia, which experienced a corruption scandal during the same period as Kenya, saw significantly fewer global news articles on corruption compared to Kenya.

A key finding is that 88% of global news articles about Kenya and 69% about Nigeria are negative, compared to just 48% for Malaysia. Similarly, Egypt, whose political regime and press freedom are comparable to that of Thailand, had more headlines focused on violence than its Southeast Asian counterpart.

When compared to other African nations, South Africa and its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, have received more favourable reporting in the media; however, there are media narratives that portray South Africa as failing like other African nations. This disproportionate focus on negative stories in Africa skews global perceptions and plays a role in the continent’s higher borrowing costs.

Higher interest rates due to media bias

According to the study, negative media sentiment directly influences credit ratings and bond yields, which in turn increase borrowing costs for African nations. Egypt, for example, has a negative sentiment score of 66% and faces bond yields of around 15%, while Thailand, with a sentiment score of 32%, has bond yields of just 2.5%.

African nations often pay significantly higher interest rates compared to other regions. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan  revealed that African countries pay about eight times more in interest than European countries and four times more than the US for the same level of debt.

According to the research, inflated rates are largely driven by heightened perceptions of risk influenced by media portrayals, despite some countries having decent credit ratings.

“The real commercial opportunity is obscured from international investors because of this risk premium,” noted Marcus Courage, chief executive officer of Africa Practice. He added that the $4.2 billion figure only accounts for the impact of negative media on sovereign debt, excluding broader effects on tourism, foreign investment, or aid.

Reducing the debt burden

More economic restrictions are being placed on the people of various African countries as a result of the adoption of additional levies, increased taxes, and other revenue-enhancing measures to pay off debt.

With the World Bank reporting that nine African countries entered 2024 in debt distress , and many more at high risk, the report concludes that a more balanced and accurate media portrayal of Africa could reduce borrowing costs, allowing African countries to invest more in public infrastructure and other critical needs.

Essentially, out of the one in eleven people hungry around the world, five of them are Africans.

Countries such as Sudan, Nigeria, and Ethiopia top the list for the highest levels of food insecurity with conflict remaining the principal driver.

In Sudan alone, the ongoing conflict has left around 25.6 million people experiencing acute food insecurity as per data collated in 2023, representing a 26 percent increase from the previous year.

“The conflict has also resulted in more than 2 million people fleeing to neighbouring countries, exacerbating regional food crises,” parts of the report read.

Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) also remain high on the charts , with over 15 million people facing high levels of food security.

Extreme weather events, like droughts caused by El Niño (variations in winds and sea surface temperatures in the Equatorial pacific), have significantly impacted local agriculture and food availability on the continent.

Countries with limited access to financing face higher rates of undernourishment and childhood stunting, the report added.

According to the report, 71.5 percent of the population in low-income countries struggle to afford nutritious food, compared with 52.6 percent in lower-middle-income countries and significantly lower percentages in higher-income nations.

Although progress in food security was observed in Latin America, the situation in Africa has worsened, and there was no significant change in Asia.

However, nations such as Kenya were highlighted as having achieved significant declines in food security, with more than 1 million fewer people facing acute food crises.

The high levels of food insecurity globally, according to the report, pose challenges to the achievement of the SDG 2 – Zero Hunger goal by 2030.

The report further suggested that by the end of the decade, 582 million people will be chronically undernourished—most of them in Africa.

The World Bank recommends increased investment in sustainable agriculture to strengthen food supply chains and improve agricultural resilience to climate shocks as key steps to reduce Africa’s dependence on external food imports.

Humanitarian aid, additional funding and international collaboration are also highlighted as solutions to support nations in combating hunger, particularly in Africa.  

Europe remains a stronghold for a free press, with the Netherlands and Finland also securing the top 5 positions.

However, some Western countries, such as France (21st), the UK (23rd), and the USA (55th), are ranked lower than anticipated.

These are the top 10 countries with the highest press freedom:

72 percent of these deaths are premature and occur among persons under 70 years.

Tobacco-attributable economic losses are about 22 times larger than the collected government revenue.  

In 2020, tobacco use in Mongolia caused economic loss equivalent to 2.1 percent of Mongolia’s gross domestic product (GDP). These losses occurred in direct health-care expenditures to treat tobacco-related illness, tobacco-attributable mortality valued at MNT 496 billion (146,923,632), and MNT 219 billion (64,871,523 ) in reduced workplace productivity from absenteeism and presenteeism.

According to the World Health Organisation, investing in  tobacco control measures will prevent more than 19,200 deaths and avert MNT 2.4 trillion in economic losses by 2037.

Ahead of this year’s World No Tobacco Day happening on May 31, the World Health Organization has called on the governments of member countries to tighten tobacco control and take measures to protect future generations from the deception of tobacco and tobacco manufacturers,  according to the National Center for Public Health. 

From 10.88 per million sectors in 2022 to 6.38 in 2023, the overall accident rate increased, surpassing the 5-year average of 7.11.

Despite a reported 37 million aircraft movements in 2023, a 17% increase compared to 2022, Africa's safety record reflected global trends with no fatal accidents involving passenger jet aircraft, but a single turboprop accident in Nepal in January 2023 which was “due to loss of control in flight” and resulted in 72 fatalities.

"2023 safety performance continues to demonstrate that flying is the safest mode of transport. Aviation places its highest priority on safety and that shows in the 2023 performance. Jet operations saw no hull losses or fatalities. 2023 also saw the lowest fatality risk and ‘all accident’ rate on record,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“A single fatal turboprop accident with 72 fatalities, however, reminds us that we can never take safety for granted. And two high-profile accidents in the first month of 2024 show that, even if flying is among the safest activities a person can do, there is always room to improve. This is what we have done throughout our history. And we will continue to make flying ever safer,” Walsh adds.

The IATA under its Focus Africa initiative introduced in June 2023 the Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Programme (CASIP) which aims to enhance aviation safety in Africa by partnering with states to enhance International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) implementation. However, only 12 out of 54 African states meet the minimum SARPs implementation threshold of 75%.

The highest scorer in the region is Seychelles (CPI score of 71), followed by Cape Verde (64), and Botswana (59). The lowest-performing countries are Equatorial Guinea (17), South Sudan (13), and Somalia (11) also the lowest-ranked in the world.

Liberia, which has seen a decline of 16 scores since 2016 to a current CPI score of 25, Mali, which has seen a decline of 7 scores since 2016 to a current CPI score of 28, and Gabon, which has seen a decline of 7 scores since 2015 to a current CPI score of 28, are the significant decliners in 2023.

Seychelles sits at the top again, this time as the significant improver up by 16 scores since 2015, followed by Angola, up by 14 since 2018 to a current score of 33, Tanzania up by 10 since 2015 to a current score of 40 and Ivory Coast up by 8 since 2015 and current score of 40.

Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria (CPI score of 25) ranks 145 th out of 180 nations globally while Benin, Ghana and Senegal are tied at 70 with a CPI score of 43.

According to the CPI, 180 nations and territories are ranked according to how corrupt the public sector is thought to be, with a score ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The combined results of at least three data sources gathered from 13 distinct polls and evaluations of corruption determine each nation's score. Organisations such as the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, compile these data sources.