Numerous evidence has revealed that African countries lagged behind in the attainment of healthrelated targets of the recent past Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Perhaps because most Africans depend largely on out-of-pocket payments for medical-care services during their health shocks experiences. Evidently, this has been a great concern to both citizens and policy makers across Africa for a long time. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact of financial inclusion on health shocks in 36 African nations over the period of 2004 to 2016. The Fixed Effects model result indicates that increase in numbers of depositors with commercial banks proxy for financial inclusion is positive and significant to predict longevity in African nations. However, rise in population growth (the control variable) have a significant role to reduce average life expectancy in Africa. Thus, both African governments and their financial institutions may improve average life expectancy and human capital for more economic development through enhanced financial inclusion.

The fact that corruption has become one of the most notoriously persistent and progressively worsening social and welfare problems afflicting virtually all economic processes today is indisputable; while critics of corruption have long argued that corruption reflects government failure in providing health development infrastructures. This paper however provided the basis of theoretical interrelationships between corruption and health sector performances in West African countries. The paper also examines various policies measures as employed by other nations as lessons to improve the performances of health sector in these countries. One implication of these results as evidenced from Singapore, Hong Kong and Tunisia, is that attainment of stronger and effective institution and good governance will lower corruptive practices and improve health sector performances in West Africa nations. The paper therefore calls on governments of West African countries to concentrate on strengthening their institutions especially by reducing corruptive practices and promoting accountability, integrity and transparency in health sector.

Newborn deaths are often used as measure of living standard of citizens as well as health indicator of nations. The rate is so high in developing countries, and more in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. This paper therefore investigated the main drivers of infant mortality in a sample of eight SSA nations. The empirical findings reveal that newborn deaths are negative and statistically significant with the quality and availability of water supplies, sanitation facility, improved standard of living; but positively related and statistically significant to the increase in pollution level these countries. The study therefore recommend that government’s efforts should also be directed towards enhancing effective child healthcare services, provision of infrastructural facilities such as, improving access to drinkable water, and citizens’ welfare.

This study empirically investigates the effects of population growth on average life expectancy in Nigeria taking into account the explicit role of healthy citizens in economic development as well as other control variables not considered in prior studies. Predicted on country-specific regression and Granger Causality test using time series data between 1986 and 2015, the findings reveal that rising population growth have positive and insignificantly impacts life expectancy; but 1% decrease in fertility rate and population of 65-and-above dependency ratio could positively stimulates an improvement in longevity by 5.84, and 81.5 respectively in Nigeria. Furthermore, the granger causality test shows that population growth could granger cause low life expectancy in Nigeria at least at 10% level of significant. The findings therefore make a case for strengthening efforts towards reducing both fertility rate and age 65 and above dependency ratio with priority given to the welfare of ages 65 and above population in Nigeria.