Education and health in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper provides an introduction to education and health issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Cross-regional and cross-country comparisons reveal that Africa lags behind other parts of the world in the attainment of these components of human development and that there is considerable variation in these indicators within Africa. It explores the determinants of education and health, returns to investments in these forms of human capital and policy issues associated with their provision. It argues that there is a role for the public sector and that primary services deserve support, but that support for such claims is based on more complex considerations than is often supposed.