Relationships among health care expenditure, infectious diseases, governance and labour productivity in Africa

The first objective of the study was to examine the impact of health care expenditure and infectious diseases (IDs), like HIV/AIDS and TB, on labour productivity (LP) in Africa. Using System GMM estimators based on the endogenous growth theory for 50 panels of African countries from 2002–2011, the results show that health care expenditure per capita is positive but statistically insignificant in affecting LP in Africa. However, the result confirmed the negative and statistically significant impact of IDs on LP in the region. The second objective of the study was to assess the role of governance in health care expenditure and the spread of IDs. The System GMM result revealed that, in the African context, weakness of government effectiveness and control of corruption are found to be positive but statistically insignificant in improving the level of health care expenditure in Africa. On the other hand, political instability and war/conflict are found to be factors that increase the spread of IDs in the region. Finally, the third objective of the study was to determine the level of the efficiency of health care expenditure among 29 low-income countries and 21 middle-income countries in Africa. The study employed a Stochastic Frontier Approach, and the result showed that low-income countries were slightly more efficient than middle-income countries in the utilisation of health care expenditure. However, none of the countries achieved full efficiency in health care expenditure in the region. Thus, the study recommended that African governments and healthrelated development partners increase the fiscal amount allocated to the health sector in accordance with the ―Abuja Declaration, 2001‖ to improve health care financing and provide healthy workers in order to increase LP in the region. In addition, more efforts are needed through strengthened governance in terms of government effectiveness and control of corruption to improve health care expenditure and control the spread of IDs in the region. Governments should improve both socioeconomic and environmental factors affecting health, other than health care, to reduce the burden on health care facilities and lessen the spread of disease in the region.

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