Health Expenditure, Health Outcomes and Economic Development

Concerning SSA, the worst health outcomes court it; they appear to be betrothed to one another even in the face of public spending on healthcare in the region. The reoccurring call for more investments in the health sector is a welcome one but this study set out to understand if public spending on health in SSA has acted as a boon to development or however does such spending retard health outcomes and economic development. Utilising panel data for 42 SSA countries [for the selected, relevant predictors] for a period of four (4) decades; by way of pooled regression, it was found that: health expenditure is a salient determinant of infant mortality in SSA, as is the region s HIV prevalence rate. Furthermore, concerning the two health outcomes, life expectancy was found to be truly necessary for the region s economic development; other causative factors being: the region s female literacy rate, labour force, and its gross national income. The greatest impact, nonetheless, emanates from the life expectancy at birth. Following these findings the study recommends the adoption of a six-fold strategy, HEALTH.