Environmental Quality and Its Attendant Effect on Human Health: New Evidence from Panel Quantile Regression for Anglophone Countries in West Africa

Abstract

An estimated seven million people per year die from emission-related diseases. These include stroke and heart disease, respiratory illness and cancers. Many health-harmful emission pollutants also damage the climate and reducing emission pollution would save lives and help slow the pace of near-term climate change. This study investigated the environmental quality and its attendant effect on human health from Anglophone countries in West Africa over the period of 1990 to 2013 using panel quantile regression. The result obtained showed that the CO2 emission that can affect the health of Anglophone countries in West Africa are CO2 emissions from gaseous fuel consumption, CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption, CO2 emissions from residential buildings and commercial and public services, CO2 emissions from solid fuel consumption, CO2 emissions from transport. Other control variables that have influence on human health were health expenditure, mortality rate and fertility rate. Therefore, the policy makers should implement policies (like energy conservation policies) that will control emission from gaseous fuel consumption, emissions from liquid fuel consumption, emissions from residential buildings and commercial and public services, emissions from solid fuel consumption and emissions from transport. Also, health sector has to be properly cater for by spending more on health and this can only increase the health outcomes in a country.