Determinants of Health Inequity in Sub-Saharan Africa Health Economics

This paper examined the determinants of health inequity in fifteen (15) Sub-Saharan African economies for a period of seventeen (17) years spanning from 2004 to 2020. Data were sourced from the World Bank (2020), World Food Programme (2020), WHO Global Health Expenditure database (2020), and global database on child growth and malnutrition (2020). Child malnutrition measured by incidence of malnourished children under the age of five was used to proxy health inequity, while net official flows from world food programmes, income poverty, GDP per capita, and domestic general government health expenditure per capita were used as explanatory variables. Panel Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) regression technique was employed. The result showed that one-period lagged of health inequity (HINEQ (-1)), one-period lagged of domestic general government health expenditure per capita (DGGHEPC (-1)), net official flows from world food programme (NOFWFP), and income poverty (INPOV) exerts positive impact, whereas GDP per capita (GDPPC), INPOV (-1), NOFWFP (-1) and DGGHEPC exerts negative impact on the Child malnutrition in Sub-Sahara Africa. However, only NOFWFP (-1), INPOV and DGGHEPC with their lagged values had a statistically significant impact on Child malnutrition in Sub-Sahara Africa. Thus, there is need for budget increase allocation to health and humanitarian sectors in Sub-Saharan African to boost basic health and nutritional needs particularly for disadvantaged households. Also, GDP per capita should be raised in order to reduce poverty levels and combat child malnutrition.