Health Expenditure and Health Outcomes in ECOWAS
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Keywords:
Private health spending, public health expenses, external health cost, child mortality, life expectancy, ECOWASAbstract
Health of a population has been of importance to the international community as stressed in sustainable development goals (SDGs) specifically, goals three and goal six. The priority given to health can be reflected in government expenditure on health which in turn determines economic growth of a nation. The burden of disease in West African region is high as 69% of diseases in the region is linked to chronic and infectious diseases causing death. In effect, life expectancy in the region is 63.24 years in 2020 which is low compared to that of developed countries. While there are indications that regions are improving health outcomes, investment
in human capital is an avenue for an economy to achieve the desired health goals; low infant mortality, low maternal mortality, high life expectancy and low under-five mortality. There are opportunities to advance the gains made overtime especially through sustained health expenditure. Health sector in some African countries is lagging in required infrastructure as reflected in the demand for health care abroad. Also, there are variation in spending to health care across countries while in some contexts, private sector and international community commit more resources to health care in developing countries. In the light of this, the paper
examines the relationship between health expenditure and health outcomes in ECOWAS region. In achieving this objective, data on health outcomes and health expenditure was sourced from World Development Indicators (WDI) for 15 member states of the West African region, using Panel data spanning from 2000 to 2020 and panel analysis was conducted. The outcome of this study indicates a significant effect of healthcare expenditure on health outcomes in ECOWAS region. Healthcare expenditures improves life expectancy and reduces the risk of mortality rate. Hence, the study recommends that government should allocate and monitor
funds towards improving the health systems. Basic amenities that have direct effect on health status of the population such as clean sanitation, basic clean water, preventive medications and should be, accessible to people.
