Publication date: January 11, 2025

Format: Educational video

Summary: This video delves into the multifaceted challenges contributing to the low life expectancy in Africa, a continent rich in diversity yet facing significant barriers to health and longevity. Despite ongoing efforts, Africa continues to have the lowest life expectancy globally, with core factors including poor access to healthcare, infectious diseases, malnutrition, limited access to clean water and sanitation, socio-economic challenges, climate change, and political instability.

The video presents expert insights and data from organizations such as the United Nations, African Union, and the African Development Bank, shedding light on the root causes of Africa’s health challenges. The economic implications of improving life expectancy are discussed, along with the broader benefits to public health and global security, particularly regarding issues such as war, terrorism, and climate change. It also highlights how poverty directly impacts health outcomes, with a focus on the lack of sanitation, nutrition, education, and healthcare access. Moreover, the video explores the nutritional gaps in African diets compared to countries such as Japan and France and emphasizes the unsustainable economic burden of food supplements.

By tackling these challenges, the video emphasizes the importance of improving healthcare access, addressing climate change, promoting peace and stability, reducing poverty, enhancing nutrition, and preventing diseases, all of which can help increase life expectancy in Africa, benefiting both health and broader economic and security outcomes.

Running time: 10 minutes 17 seconds

Materials: For access to the video and transcript, visit https://youtu.be/lGZbyede3Xw?si=fYdI0cOznGrIXDFk.

Reference

CENRS (2025). Life Expectancy in Africa: What You Need to Know. https://youtu.be/lGZbyede3Xw?si=fYdI0cOznGrIXDFk.