Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis
Globally, life expectancy increased while infant mortality reduced substantially between the 19th and late 20th century. Although there is relatively mature literature on the drivers behind these gains in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality, there is a dearth of studies that focus on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Health Policy Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590229620300113 |
| _version_ | 1819315773441572864 |
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| author | Mwimba Chewe Peter Hangoma |
| author_facet | Mwimba Chewe Peter Hangoma |
| author_sort | Mwimba Chewe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Globally, life expectancy increased while infant mortality reduced substantially between the 19th and late 20th century. Although there is relatively mature literature on the drivers behind these gains in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality, there is a dearth of studies that focus on the drivers of health in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The few studies that do exist do not account for a broader array of determinants such as the quality of access to health services and institutional quality which may have important implications for health policy. We contribute in filling this gap by estimating the effect of a rich set of socio-economic, environmental, health system and lifestyle factors on life expectancy and infant mortality using a panel of 30 sub-Saharan African countries. We employ a dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator and focus on the period between 1995—2014.Our findings show that increases in health expenditure, educational attainment, and health care access quality are associated with increases in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality. Higher HIV prevalence rates are associated with reductions in life expectancy whereas urbanization, per capita income growth and access to clean water are positively associated with life expectancy.We conclude that increases in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality can be accelerated by paying particular attention to interventions linked to these drivers, including, health care access quality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T10:05:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ba8f5e3dd6ec403bb18a97b39e4f2ccf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-2296 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T10:05:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Policy Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-ba8f5e3dd6ec403bb18a97b39e4f2ccf2022-12-21T17:00:52ZengElsevierHealth Policy Open2590-22962020-12-011100013Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel AnalysisMwimba Chewe0Peter Hangoma1Corresponding author at: The University of Zambia, Department of Health Policy and Management, P.O Box 50110, Lusaka, Zambia.; The University of Zambia, Department of Health Policy and ManagementThe University of Zambia, Department of Health Policy and ManagementGlobally, life expectancy increased while infant mortality reduced substantially between the 19th and late 20th century. Although there is relatively mature literature on the drivers behind these gains in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality, there is a dearth of studies that focus on the drivers of health in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The few studies that do exist do not account for a broader array of determinants such as the quality of access to health services and institutional quality which may have important implications for health policy. We contribute in filling this gap by estimating the effect of a rich set of socio-economic, environmental, health system and lifestyle factors on life expectancy and infant mortality using a panel of 30 sub-Saharan African countries. We employ a dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator and focus on the period between 1995—2014.Our findings show that increases in health expenditure, educational attainment, and health care access quality are associated with increases in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality. Higher HIV prevalence rates are associated with reductions in life expectancy whereas urbanization, per capita income growth and access to clean water are positively associated with life expectancy.We conclude that increases in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality can be accelerated by paying particular attention to interventions linked to these drivers, including, health care access quality.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590229620300113I15 C23 |
| spellingShingle | Mwimba Chewe Peter Hangoma Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis Health Policy Open I15 C23 |
| title | Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis |
| title_full | Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis |
| title_short | Drivers of Health in sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Analysis |
| title_sort | drivers of health in sub saharan africa a dynamic panel analysis |
| topic | I15 C23 |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590229620300113 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mwimbachewe driversofhealthinsubsaharanafricaadynamicpanelanalysis AT peterhangoma driversofhealthinsubsaharanafricaadynamicpanelanalysis |