Analyzing Health Financing and the Implications on Health Access and Equity in Canada, Nigeria and Ghana

This major research paper examined health financing and the implications for health equity and access to care in North America and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries with emphasis on Canada, Nigeria and Ghana. Relevant scholarly journal articles and books were reviewed to meet the objectives of this paper. Literature analysis was used to examine the data obtained for this study. Research findings show that health financing is driven by free market economy (neoliberalism) in both SSA and Canada. Moreover, in making comparison of health financing in the developed and developing nations from 2000 to 2014, the study revealed that the total health expenditure as a percentage of GDP for both Nigeria and Ghana is less than half that of Canada. Also, the government of Ghana is stronger than Nigeria in terms of public health care funding, although both countries are making positive progress in health financing. Generally, the public health financing in Canada is larger than in both Ghana and Nigeria. In the perspective of global health financing, this indicates the presence of inequality in government health expenditure in HICs and LMICs. Furthermore, the analysis shows there are many barriers to the attainment of health financing objectives. This study recommends reform of health care financing systems and giving higher priority to health in government budgetary allocations in various countries as a way of addressing these barriers. In conclusion, it is appropriate for governments of every nation to utilize resources efficiently and equitably for healthcare and ensure prudent spending of money for proper policies in health finance and enhanced health care delivery.