Purpose: This study investigates the effectiveness of health-aid in Nigeria, with focus on child health outcomes. In particular, the study aims to examine whether health aid has yielded significant gains in child health in Nigeria. Methodology/Approach/Design: Secondary data on neonatal, infant and under 5 mortality as well as measles and DPT immunization were used. The stationarity of the variables was ascertained using the augmented Dickey-Fuller and Philip-Perron unit root tests. In order to confirm the presence or otherwise of long-run relationship among the selected variables, Johansen cointegration test was carried out and the obtained coefficients and p-values indicate evidences of long-run relationship. Finally, the study used the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) estimator to examine the effects of aid targeted at children health on the various child health outcomes. Results: The results suggest the existence of long-run relationships between health aid and child health indicators, with aid having reducing impacts on the mortality indicators and a positive correlation with child immunization coverage. Also, public health expenditure, literacy rate and urbanization rate are negatively correlated with measures of children mortality and positively correlated with the measures of immunization coverage. Except for infant mortality, economic growth proxy by GDP growth rate has insignificant effect on child health. Practical Implications: Sustained improvement in children health is the core objective of aids aimed at children’s health, and findings of this research will serve as a framework for health policymakers in understanding the contributions of health aid inflow to specific indicators of child health in Nigeria. Originality/Value: This study makes a number of contributions to the ongoing discussion on the effectiveness of health-specific ODA in Nigeria. Despite the inconclusiveness of the health aid-health outcomes literature, this study has shown that children health aid has led to improvement in children health in Nigeria. While previous studies have focused on child mortality indicators, this study examined the effect on various measures of children health including children immunization coverage.

Purpose: The study aimed at presenting a comparative appraisal of the trends of the two most prevalent infectious diseases bedeviling the region: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB). Subject & Methods: Data on fourteen ECOWAS member countries and also fourteen member countries of the SADC bloc. This represents about 93.3% and 87.5% membership of the ECOWAS and SADC blocs respectively. Although the choice of sample size is determined largely by the availability of data, the choices were carefully made to maximize available observation. The data were sourced from World Development Indicators online database published by the World Bank. We use two measures of infectious diseases: the prevalence rate of human immunodeficiency virus and the incidence of tuberculosis. Results: The HIV prevalence rates and incidence of TB were uneven in the two selected trade blocs. The magnitude and the severity of the diseases varied. The burden of both diseases was higher for SADC and lesser for ECOWAS. The average prevalence rate of HIV in the SADC bloc over the study period was 600% of the prevalence rate in ECOWAS (SADC = 12.5%, ECOWAS = 2.1%). Likewise, in the same period, the average TB incidence per 100,000 people was 578.8 and 181.7 respectively in the SADC and ECOWAS blocs. Conclusions: The study finds that the magnitude and severity of the diseases vary widely between the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) trade blocs. And, while concerted efforts at curbing the diseases have yielded results, there is still much to be done in both blocs.

Purpose ― This study contributes to the empirical literature on the nonlinear relationship between public debt and economic growth in Nigeria using threshold regression methodology. It provides insight into how Nigeria can grow out of debt sustainably in the face of the prevailing level of corruption as an institutional indicator. Method ― Stata's threshold command is used for data analysis, and this command fits time-series threshold models in finding the optimal number of thresholds. It does this by minimising an information criterion and using conditional least squares to estimate the parameters of the threshold regression model. Findings ― The results show that the relationship between public debt and economic growth is nonlinear. The threshold effect of public debt on growth depends on the debt-to-GDP ratio and the level of corruption. Substantial evidence supports two threshold levels of debt-to-GDP ratio and corruption in the debt-growth nexus. The two threshold levels of corruption are 63.21 and 64.27 (on a scale of 0 to 100), with the growth effect of public debt being positive and significant in the second regime only. Implication ― Public debt exerts significant positive effects on growth as long as corruption is kept at a moderate level. Thus, the government of Nigeria needs to ensure that corruption is pegged at a fairly moderate level that will guarantee the positive contribution of accumulated debt to economic growth. Originality ― Unlike previous works, the study addresses the problem caused by the mechanical effect of a change in the real GDP growth rate on debt. It is based on the assumption of a maximum of two thresholds.