Healthcare Financing Gaps, Schemes and Life Expectancy in Africa

One of the challenges facing all nations currently is the means to achieve Sustainable Development goals particularly relating to health outcomes by 2030. In this regard, health financing schemes become very crucial. In the African context, many countries appear to be inadequately financing their health systems to obtain better health outcomes for their citizens. Drawing on the Prospect Theory (PT), we examine the cumulative effect of Compulsory Financing Arrangements (CFA), Government Financing Arrangements (GFA), Compulsory Health Insurance (CHI), Social Health Insurance (SHI), and Voluntary Health Arrangements (VHA) on Life expectancy (LE) across 48 African countries. Using a longitudinal study with panel data between 2004-2019, our data evidence suggests that while both government financing arrangements and social health insurance schemes have a negative impact on life expectancy in Africa, compulsory health insurance positively affects life expectancy. However, the employment ratio in Africa has a moderating effect on female life expectancy. To increase life expectancy, African governments need to create innovative measures that increase health system budgets and policy measures that are directed at investments in better pooling of health financing revenues. We conclude by outlining some relevant implications for the theory and practice of health financing policy planning in Africa.