Effects of the Quality of Governance on Domestic Government Health Spending in West Africa Economic and Monetary Union Countries

Abstract

Government health spending is an important source of sustainable health funding in order to attain the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In low and middle-income countries, domestic government per capita spending on health needed to ensure universal coverage with the most essential health services is estimated at $112 according to Stenberg et al. (2017). In 2015, in West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), average domestic government spending on health per capita was $26 (about one quarter of all health spending), far short of the $112 target. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of domestic government health spending with emphasis on the quality of governance. We used panel data from the eight WAEMU member states covering the period 2000-2015 and the generalized least squares method for empirical investigation. The results show that an improvement in the quality of governance increases domestic government health spending. The study suggests the policy-makers of the WAEMU member state to improve the quality of governance in order to increase domestic government health spending and allow people to access essential health services and enjoy a better state of health.