Dr Okore Okorafor (former Researcher/Lecturer at the HEU) has published a book titled Primary Healthcare Spending: Striving for equity under fiscal federalism. (UCT Press, April 2010). The books forms part of a wider project he worked on during his stay at the HEU.
This book explores the implications of a wide range of intergovernmental fiscal arrangements found in fiscal federal systems and how they impact on the equitable distribution of primary health care resources. It also highlights how equity can be promoted within a fiscal federal system. The issues raised in the book are relevant to all countries operating under a fiscal federal system and those that operate a decentralised health system. Fiscal federalism is followed by Australia, India, Canada and Nigeria, as well as South Africa. Although this title focuses on South Africa and Nigeria, the impact of this economic approach on primary health care in the above countries is also discussed and predicted.
There has been much work published in the area of equity in resource allocation for the health sector, but nothing yet has investigated this subject in the fiscal federal context. This title therefore breaks new ground and is a pioneer in its field.