Fostering better health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa countries: the role of sanitation, access to clean energy, vulnerable employment, digitization and urbanization

Despite the increasing attention to the socioeconomic implications of health and its pivotal role in achieving the sustainable development goal (SDGs), the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region still lags in achieving SDG 3– better health for all. Faced with new and re-emerging health challenges, the discourse on the issue of health thus remains focal in the region. While sizeable literature exists on influencers of better health in the region, the roles of certain key factors having significant potential implications for health has been sparsely examined. This study therefore contributes to the literature on determinants of health outcomes in SSA focusing on some socioeconomic factors that have contextual relevance for the SSA region. Specifically, the study investigates the effect of sanitation, access to clean energy, vulnerable employment, digitization and urbanization on health outcomes proxy by life expectancy in SSA countries. Using annual data collected on thirty-five SSA countries between 2001 and 2022, the study adopts the pooled mean group (PMG) estimator to study the short-and long-run effect of the selected variables on health outcomes. The results show that in the short-run, life expectancy only responds positively to changes in sanitation, income, and urbanization. However, the long-run results suggest that sanitation, clean energy, vulnerable employment, digitization, and health expenditure are significant enablers of better health in SSA. The study recommends prioritizing health expenditure, digitization, clean energy, and sanitation infrastructure for better health in the region.