Effect of public health expenditure on health outcomes in Nigeria and Ghana

Although the prevailing literature traverses the effects of public health expenditure on health outcomes in developing countries, the neglect of Malaria and HIV/AIDS mortality as health outcomes biases the findings and cannot be sufficient to draw inferences in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the impact public health expenditure has on health outcomes in Nigeria and Ghana whilst redefining health outcomes to capture infant, maternal, Malaria and HIV/AIDS mortality. Using the health expenditure commitment at the 1999 United Nations General Assembly and the Abuja Declaration of 2000, we assessed public policy’s role in this relationship. A linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship and effect of public health expenditure on health outcomes in Nigeria and Ghana. Although our findings disclosed a low public health expenditure in both countries, the Ghanaian case revealed a negative relationship, which was primarily insignificant, whilst Nigeria indicated a positive one. We conclude that an increment in public health expenditure in both countries is necessary to improve health outcomes whilst bringing to light that GDP, school enrolment and residing in urban areas enhance health outcomes.