Résumé
This study focused on assessing pollutants in water bodies in developing nations, particularly Africa. Pollution means bringing in the environment potentially harmful substances, at levels that can be detrimental to the environment and its users. While it is a global problem, it is a growing concern in developing countries. Therefore, this study targeted pollution of water bodies to assess the level of water pollution of two main classes of pollutants: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and Heavy metals (HM) in rivers across Africa. This study utilized Structured Literature Review (SLR) approach using two databases, ScienceDirect and PubMed and the PRISMA methodology in addition to some inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the articles used. The emphasis of this study was on articles published between 2010 to 2025. A total of 49 articles were selected in this study based on the stipulated quality standards. The results from this study showed that the concentrations of pollutants (HM and PAHs) in many of the rivers from the included articles were far higher than the outlined global standards. These trends were linked to different mining activities and petroleum exploration across Africa. As a result, this study concluded that there is a need for more stringent water quality guideline; the need for a more regulated mining activities and oil explorations, and coordinated effluent disposal in water bodies to mitigate water pollution across Africa.