Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria: Implications for Public Health Financing and Inflation Rate

Abstract: Public health financing in developing countries most especially in Nigeria often hindered by inadequate budgetary allocation and high out-of-pocket expenses incurred by citizens, leading to high inflation rates of medical expenses surging instantaneously, thus, erodes the purchasing power of households and public health budgets which in turn affecting sustainable economic growth. Given the above, the broad objective of this study is to examine the impact of public health financing and inflation rate on sustainable economic growth in Nigeria, while specific objectives are to investigate the nature of relationship among public health financing, inflation rate and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. The data for the study were analyzed using unit root test, co-integration test, Auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach as estimation techniques. Result from the study showed that high sustained inflation exhibit a negative impact on GDPgr in the long run by reducing purchasing power and investment. Again, in the short and long runs, high poverty rate consistently correlate with lower GDP growth rate. In addition, In the long run analysis, public health expenditure exhibit a positive and significant effect on economic development, but in the short run, an inverse insignificant relationship exist as government expenditures take time to translate into productivity gains. Population growth rate showed a positive impact on economic progress in the short run but as population increases, it leads to a long-term decline in the annual GDP growth rate as a result slow grow of economy. Finally, result further indicates that domestic general government health expenditure have a positive long run relationship with GDP growth rate by enhancing workers’ productivity in the country. Based on the findings, the study therefore recommends that government needs to raise health sector spending beyond current levels to meet, or exceed the 2001 Abuja Declaration standards. In a bid to control rising inflation of medical facilities, aggressive and pragmatic monetary policies are necessary to manage and reduce its adverse impact on economic growth. Government should also strengthen the health sector management and monitoring of health expenditure to ensure that funds translate to better health outcomes, rather than being lost to funds mismanagement or inefficiency. Keywords: Sustainable economic growth, Public health financing, Inflation rate, ARDL. Title: Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria: Implications for Public Health Financing and Inflation Rate Author: Ilori, Isaac Aduralere, Awe, Folahan Deborah International Journal of Novel Research in Healthcare and Nursing ISSN 2394-7330 Vol. 13, Issue 2, May 2026 - August 2026 Page No: 15-27 Novelty Journals Website: www.noveltyjournals.com Published Date: 21-May-2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20266629 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.noveltyjournals.com/upload/paper/Sustainable%20Economic%20Growth%20in%20Nigeria-21052026-2.pdf