How West African countries prioritize health

• Published in: Tropical Medicine and Health
• Main Authors: Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Aishat Alaran, Abubakar Badmos, Adeola Oluwaseyi Bamisaiye, Nzeribe Emmanuella, Alison Ubong Etukakpan, Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye, Oladipo Oluwaseyifunmi, Shingin Kovona Musa, Temiwunmi Akinmuleya, Omotayo Carolyn Olaoye, Obafemi Arinola Olarewaju, Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021
• Subjects: Health financing; Health systems; Universal Health Coverage; ECOWAS; West Africa; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-021-00380-6; https://doaj.org/article/7440b2e4ea274f6fa909f1a2bfd22f22

Abstract Background The goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is to ensure that everyone is able to obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. UHC remains a mirage if government health expenditure is not improved. Health priority refers to general government health expenditure as a percentage of general government expenditure. It indicates the priority of the government to spend on healthcare from its domestic public resources. Our study aimed to assess health priorities in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) using the health priority index from the WHO’s Global Health Expenditure Database. Method We extracted and analysed data on health priority in the WHO’s Global Health Expenditure Database across the 15 members of the ECOWAS (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo) from 2010 to 2018 to assess how these countries prioritize health. The data are presented using descriptive statistics. Results Our findings revealed that no West African country beats the cutoff of a minimum of 15% health priority index. Ghana (8.43%), Carbo Verde (8.29%), and Burkina Faso (7.60%) were the top three countries with the highest average health priority index, while Guinea (3.05%), Liberia (3.46%), and Guinea-Bissau (3.56%) had the lowest average health priority in the West African region within the period of our analysis (2010 to 2018). Conclusion Our study reiterates the need for West African governments and other relevant stakeholders to prioritize health in their political agenda towards achieving UHC.