Submission ID 118540
| Issue/Objective | Towards achieving Universal health coverage (UHC), social health insurance is found to increase access to healthcare. But there is scarce evidence on social health spending efficiency in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Faced with limited fiscal space and other constraints to increase health spending, stakeholders turn their attention to health spending efficiency. This study examines efficiency in social health spending in achieving UHC in SSA. |
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| Methodology/Approach | The study employs a double bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique to estimate and analyse efficiency in social health spending. Also, the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) is employed to explain the sources of the efficiency changes over time. Data from 2015 to 2021 on SSA countries are sourced from the World Development Indicators, World Governance Indicators, and Global Health Expenditure Database. |
| Results | We find the efficiency scores to monotonically increase with income. With a 20% inefficiency in social health spending in UHC provision, the high income countries are, on the average, 8.63% inefficient while the low-income countries are 23% inefficient. We find a higher efficiency in providing service coverage and financial protection simultaneously than providing either one. Finally, the results show that the efficiency gains in government health spending via social health insurance is higher than that of direct government health spending on UHC. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | This study analyses the technical efficiency of SSA health systems with regard to the contribution of social health spending efficiency to achieving UHC in SSA. At the current social health insurance spending, at least US$519,409.80 social health spending does not contribute to UHC provision in the sub region. That said, the efficiency gains in social health spending to save this amount (US$519,409.80) annually might not be enough for the investment required to accelerate UHC provision in SSA. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Albert Opoku Frimpong Department of Social Policy and Security Studies, Bonn Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences Albert Opoku Frimpong Department of Social Policy and Security Studies, Bonn Rhein Sieg University of Applied Sciences |
