EFFECT OF AIR POLLUTION AND HEALTH EXPENDITURE ON UNDER-FIVE YEARS MORTALITY RATE IN KENYA

Abstract

Health is associated with economic and sustainable advancement whereby raising the life expectancy of a newborn by 10% increases the economic progress by 0.35% annually. In developing countries, nearly 29,000 children below five years die per day. Progress with respect to child mortality rates in Kenya has decreased from 96.6 in 1970 to 30.6 per 1,000 live births in 2018, this value remained below the Sustainable Development Goals target of below 25 for every 1000 live births by 2030. The main objective of the study was to establish the effect of air pollution and health expenditure on the under-five years’ mortality rate in Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of air pollution, public health expenditure and private health expenditure on the under-five years’ mortality rate in Kenya. The study was built on the Grossman health demand model. Time series data for a period of 49 years from 1970 to 2018 was collected from World Bank Development indicators using a data collection sheet. The unit root test indicated that the variables of interest were stationary at a 5 % level of significance. The correlation analysis established a positive association between the under-five years’ mortality rate and air pollution and a negative association between the under-five mortality rate and public and private health expenditure. The Johansen cointegration established a long-run relationship among the variables of the mortality rate of under-five, air pollution, public health expenditure and private health expenditure with coefficients of 12.007, -6.898 and 1.462 respectively such that a unit increase in air pollution by 1metric ton of CO2 increased mortality by approximately 12 deaths per 1000 live births while a percentage increase in public and private health expenditures reduced the under-five years' mortality rate by approximately 7 and 2 deaths per 1000 live births respectively. Vector error correction in the short-run indicated that the previous year’s air pollution does not significantly affect the under-five years’mortality rate in Kenya while previous years' public and private health expenditure significantly affected the under-five years’ mortality rate in Kenya. Granger causality test results showed a unidirectional causality from air pollution and private health expenditure to under five years’ mortality and bidirectional causality between public health expenditure and under five years’ mortality in Kenya. In conclusion, air pollution and health expenditures affected the under five years’ mortality rate in Kenya. Therefore, it was recommended that the government and other stakeholders in Kenya should target activities aimed at cutting down on the air pollution levels emitted into the air and increasing public healthcare expenditure and private health expenditure The research findings formed useful material of knowledge to academia by expanding on existing literature and provided information to policymakers in identifying what needs to be done to reduce the burden of under-five years’ mortality rate in Kenya.