Impact of public health expenditure on health outcomes in Zimbabwe (1980-2014)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of public health expenditure as a percentage of GDP on health outcomes (measured as life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate, and under-five mortality rate) in Zimbabwe for the period 1980-2014. The study employs an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model to analyze the impact of public health expenditure on health outcomes. The regression results reveal that public health expenditure is an important factor which contributes positively towards health outcomes and specifically that increases in public health expenditure have the impact of reducing infant and under-five mortality and increasing life expectancy. The results also shows that GDP per capita, gross female secondary enrollment, physicians per 1000 people as well as political environment are the major determinants of life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate in Zimbabwe. The policy recommendations from this study are that the Zimbabwean government should prioritise increasing public health expenditure whilst at the same time ensuring that education of females remains a priority. Furthermore, policies aimed at retaining medical personnel should be implemented. An economic policy that increases productivity in the economy should also be implemented to ensure increased GDP per capita. Existence of a conducive political environment is critical to the achievement of positive health outcomes as it contributes to good governance which is essential for efficiency in the health delivery system.