What are Africans most worried about?

Improvements in health systems are the highest priority for Africans, according to analysis from the PEW Research Center, released ahead of next week’s UN Summit on the Global Goals.

The finding reflects the fact that, despite major improvements in the health of Africans over the past 25 years, the continent continues to lag in global league tables.

More positively, African nations have seen particularly strong gains in education over the same time period, which may explain why this is seen as a lower priority in eight of the nine nations surveyed.

The survey also suggests that Africans are considerably more optimistic about their economies than are citizens in other regions of the world.

PEW says that Africa’s relative optimism over the economy is mostly a reflection of the brisk growth the continent has enjoyed in recent years.

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Author: Mark Jones is Commissioning Editor for the World Economic Forum

Image: Nurses take care of newly born babies at Kisenyi health centre in Uganda’s capital Kampala April 10, 2015. REUTERS/James Akena