Government Health Expenditure and Maternal Mortality: The Moderating Role of External Debt.

Background/objectives: The impact of government health spending and external debt on maternal mortality has been the subject of ongoing theoretical and empirical discussions. However, this relationship has remained controversial with no perspective on the moderating role of external debt on the government's health expenditure and maternal mortality link. This study examines the moderating effect of external debt on the government's health expenditure and maternal mortality relation using data from 13 Southern African economies spanning from 2000 to 2022.