A recent study published in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health forecasts a slowdown in health sector spending in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the research led by Angela E Apeagyei and colleagues at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington in Seattle, this decline is likely to extend until 2050. Key factors contributing to this trend include stagnant growth in government health funding and a reduction in health development assistance.
This research involves analyzing data from various sources that track development assistance for health, global health expenditures, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, along with projections for future health spending up to 2050. The findings indicate that, although global health spending is anticipated to increase as a part of GDP in many regions, Sub-Saharan Africa (with the exception of southern sub-Sahara Africa) is projected to see a decrease.
In addition to the challenge of low prioritization of health in government budgets, a significant factor in this decline is the decrease in health development assistance. Following the Millennium Development Goals, there was a phase of growth in health funding, with development assistance for health increasing by an average of 11.1% per year from 2000 to 2015. However, this growth has since slowed to just 4.6%, particularly impacted by global economic setbacks related to the COVID pandemic and crises such as the ongoing war in Ukraine. While government health spending in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased and is anticipated to keep rising, it will not sufficiently make up for the decline in external assistance.
Unless there are improvements, this trend poses a serious threat to achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. The authors express hope that their findings will guide policymakers in recognizing future health spending trends and inspire actionable steps to address the complex economic and health challenges faced by the region.
The authors emphasize: “In sub-Saharan Africa, the expected growth in both donor and government health funding is projected to be significantly lower compared to other regions. This concerning trend highlights the urgent need for innovative financing approaches to bolster health systems in alignment with the region’s economic development and the health needs of its populace.”
