School of Economic Science, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.
Front Public Health. 2023 Mar 30;11:1145564. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1145564. eCollection 2023.
Development of information and communication technology has been identified as a tool for fast and effective information gathering and dissemination, and as a means through which almost every social and economic sector (including the health sector) could achieve economic, operational, and service delivery efficiencies that can enable the realization of targeted outcomes. ICT can serve as a tool for achieving international agreements (including the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978), thereby accelerating the achievement of various global development targets.
Consequently, based on a sample of 38 countries from 2000 to 2018, this study investigates the effect of ICT development on the health gap, and whether the effect varies by gender and sub-region in Africa. The dependent variable (health gap) was measured as the difference between the achieved life expectancy at birth of 60 years and the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 targeted life expectancy at birth of 60 years. The main independent variables are ICT indicators (ICT index, mobile cellular subscriptions, and internet access), while the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the measure of economic growth, healthcare expenditure, urbanization, and labor market outcome, is employed as control variables. The effect was examined using Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE).
The findings of the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors estimation technique supported by those of FGLS and PCSE suggest that ICT does act as an indispensable stimulator for Africa to significantly exceed the international health target of life expectancy at birth of 60 years. It can be concluded that African leaders need to take advantage and maximize the health-enhancing potential of the internet component of ICT through relevant policies that would improve internet coverage, connectivity, and access for individuals and health institutions.
信息和通信技术的发展已被确定为快速、有效地收集和传播信息的工具，也是包括卫生部门在内的几乎每个社会和经济部门实现经济、运营和服务提供效率的手段，从而实现有针对性的成果。信通技术可以作为实现国际协议（包括 1978 年《阿拉木图宣言》）的工具，从而加速实现各种全球发展目标。
因此，本研究基于 2000 年至 2018 年的 38 个国家的样本，调查了信通技术发展对卫生差距的影响，以及这种影响在非洲是否因性别和次区域而异。因变量（卫生差距）的衡量标准是出生时实际预期寿命与《阿拉木图宣言》（1978 年）规定的出生时预期寿命 60 年之间的差距。主要的自变量是信通技术指标（信通技术指数、移动蜂窝用户数和互联网接入），而国内生产总值（GDP）是经济增长的衡量标准，以及医疗保健支出、城市化和劳动力市场成果，则被用作控制变量。使用 Driscoll-Kraay 标准误差、可行广义最小二乘法（FGLS）和面板校正标准误差（PCSE）检验了这种影响。
Driscoll-Kraay 标准误差估计技术的结果得到了 FGLS 和 PCSE 的支持，表明信通技术确实是非洲显著超过出生时预期寿命 60 年这一国际卫生目标的不可或缺的刺激因素。可以得出结论，非洲领导人需要利用并最大限度地发挥信通技术中互联网部分对健康的促进潜力，通过相关政策提高个人和医疗机构的互联网覆盖范围、连接性和可访问性。
