Health, Health-System and Economic Development: A South Asian Perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the linkages between health and economic development focusing the seven South Asian
(SA) countries for the period of 2000-15. Firstly, a situation analysis of major health indicators indicates that SA
countries are advancing well in life expectancy, mortality and fertility rate while the burden of diseases is shifting
from infectious diseases to noncommunicable diseases. The study finds that private sources mainly out of pocket
health expenditure dominates the total spending on health care. Using the linear regression method, the research
also finds that health expenditure growth is positively correlated with Nominal GDP growth in this region. This
study also discusses the health facility situations and finds that health workforce deficiency challenge is critical
in SA countries. This research also recommends that closing gaps in primary care, strengthening accessibility of
health care and making progress in health determinants are necessary to expand Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
in the SA region. Finally, the study has listed the major policy interventions in the SA countries and highlighted a
couple of areas to be addressed for health sector advancement.