Recent statistics reveal that Africa is home to 30% of the world’s poor and its poverty is further exacerbated by ill health. HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis alone account for over 6 million deaths annually and countless
hours of lost productivity.
This subproject was initiated with two aims: The first was to explore the effects of health-related variables (preventive and promotive measures such as vaccination and nutrition, spread of health facilities, HIV/AIDS infection rates, malaria etc.) on poverty via their impact on economic growth. The second aim was to influence preventive policy measures that will save lives through attachments of PhD students to ministries of finance, health and planning, to address the growing health crisis in Africa occasioned by residual budget allocations. Because empirical evidence on the interactions among health, economic growth and poverty in Africa is lacking, the research project on Health, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa is expected to facilitate evidence-based policy responses to managing the African health crisis. The results will be widely disseminated to raise awareness of African governments and policy makers on the need to invest in the health sector.