Page 10 - GHES-3-1

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Energy consumption and life expectancy in West Africa

to healthcare, the incidence of infectious diseases, associated with a decrease in health quality, manifesting as
malnutrition, poor maternal and child health, increased neonatal and maternal mortality rates and low
limited education, poverty, political instability, weak life expectancy, among other issues (Matthew et al., 2018).
infrastructure, lack of healthcare funding, inadequate Understanding the connection between energy use
sanitation, and economic crises are major challenges to and life expectancy in lower-middle-income countries
improving life expectancy in West African countries. In in West Africa is important for policymakers and
2021, life expectancy in some West African countries was stakeholders when designing effective strategies for
relatively low; life expectancy in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory sustainable development and improving public health
Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) was approximately 54.4, 64.4, and outcomes. West Africa comprises a diverse group of
57.5 years, respectively. According to Weitensfelder et al. countries with varying levels of economic development,
(2024), the average life expectancy globally was 70 years energy infrastructure, and healthcare systems. Lower-
for men and 75 years for women, whereas the average life middle-income countries in West Africa face numerous
expectancy at birth across Africa was 61 years for men and challenges in meeting their energy demands, such as
65 years for women. However, these rates vary considerably limited access to electricity, reliance on traditional biomass
across countries and regions due to diverse social, fuels, and inadequate energy infrastructure. These factors
economic, and healthcare conditions. Improvements in contribute to energy poverty and hinder socioeconomic
healthcare infrastructure, access to education, economic progress, including healthcare advancements. There is
development, and disease control measures lead to considerable environmental degradation in Africa, leading
improvements in life expectancy. to poor health status, despite the abundance of renewable
Some West African countries have made efforts energy resources. Africa’s primary energy source is fossil
to increase life expectancy through improvements in fuels. Countries in West Africa are energy inefficient,
healthcare, education, and economic development which impedes their ability to achieve the Sustainable
(World Health Organization, 2021). To further address Development Goals of the United Nations (Chaabouni
the challenges involved in improving life expectancy in & Saidi, 2017; Destek & Aslan, 2017). According to the
West Africa, environmental quality must be improved. For World Resource Institute (2020), in sub-Saharan Africa,
this reason, this study focused on energy consumption. contagious and airborne diseases remain a major cause of
The International Energy Agency (IEA, 2020) states that mortality, especially among children.
energy consumption is vital for improving living standards West Africa depends on natural gas and crude oil as
because it facilitates access to modern amenities and energy sources. For example, Nigeria and Ghana depend
services. Reliable access to electricity enhances healthcare on fossil fuels for electricity generation. According to
infrastructure by allowing continuous functioning of Aderinto (2023), approximately 77% of electricity in
essential services, such as vaccine refrigeration, lighting for Nigeria was generated using fossil fuels in 2018, which
surgeries, and the operation of medical equipment (World accounted for approximately 70% of West Africa’s carbon
Health Organization, 2021). Moreover, clean cooking dioxide (CO ) emissions. Fossil fuel combustion produces
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fuels reduce air pollution in homes, thereby substantially CO emissions, which significantly contribute to climate
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reducing premature deaths caused by respiratory diseases, change (Sharma, 2017). In recent years, West Africa has
especially among children and women (Smith et al., 2014). experienced increasingly erratic weather conditions.
Therefore, it can be inferred that energy accessibility The coastlines of Senegal, Togo, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire
is an essential determinant of well-being and health. have been ravaged by coastal degradation and erosion
Energy inaccessibility can lead to low living standards (UNFCCC, 2020). Energy inaccessibility has hindered the
due to inadequate lighting and heating, which negatively functioning of healthcare facilities, such as carrying out life-
affect health. Similarly, energy inaccessibility can hinder saving operations and vaccine storage (Franco et al., 2017).
clean water access, thereby increasing the risk of diseases Energy accessibility is essential for improving the standard
(Kandpal et al., 2018). The World Health Organisation of living, increasing longevity, and providing adequate
(2017) states that energy production/consumption is healthcare services in developing countries (Lambert
a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, et al., 2014). However, to increase energy accessibility and
accounting for approximately 76% of global greenhouse transition, effective governance, strong institutions, and a
gas emissions in 2020. The combustion of fossil fuels reduction in corruption are necessary.
generates various pollutants and greenhouse gases, Mackey & Liang (2012) argue that corruption in
which contribute to global warming and climate change. healthcare affects both developing and developed
Environmental degradation has been shown to be countries. According to Mackey & Bryan (2012),

Volume 3 Issue 1 (2025) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3518