Determinant of Healthcare Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This study examines the determinants of healthcare investment in Sub-SaharanAfrica from 1999 to 2017 involving 35 SSA countries. The econometrics methodsused in the study involves the fixed effect and random effect models, and thegeneralized method of moments (GMM-SYS). The results of the static model showedthat GDP per capita, population and inflation positively affect investment in SubSaharan Africa, while debt service as a share of GDP negatively impacts healthcareinvestment in SSA. On the other hand, the GMM results showed that GDP percapita, population, growth, inflation, and debt service as a share of GDP have anegative relationship with healthcare investment, while infant mortality rate has apositive influence on healthcare investment in SSA. The study recommends that forSSA to improve the health sector and reduce incidences of malaria, HIV,tuberculosis, diarrhoea, and other diseases, it is important for both the governmentsand private investors to raise the level of healthcare investments to pay for betterhealthcare services, build more hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities; andbetter finance research and development in the health sector.Keywords: healthcare investment, per capita, population, debt service and infantmortality rate.