Exploring the Effectiveness of Healthcare Expenditure in Reducing Maternal Mortality in Nigeria
Abstract
The high rate of maternal mortality and the need to improve on healthcare delivery necessitated the imperativeness to investigate how healthcare spending (both government and private) affect mortality among women in Nigeria between 1981 and 2022. Time series data were collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), World Development Indicator (WDI) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) were employed as techniques for data analysis and the results revealed that government budgetary allocation to the health sector has significant negative impact on women mortality rate. This explains the effectiveness of public healthcare spending in improving the health status of women. The results further revealed that private sector spending is not significant in reducing the mortality among women. This could be linked to the low of out-of-pocket healthcare spending which limits its potentials in reducing women mortality level. Given the findings, this study recommended among others for the implementation of an expansionary fiscal policy to improve government spending on health sector, and in so doing reduce mortality among women in Nigeria.
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References
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