Are ecosystem health and human health related? An analysis of deforestation and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa

Description: Malaria directly affects over 200 million people annually and incidence rates are highly dependent on anthropogenic activities such as land use changes and deforestation. In developing countries, human health is highly dependent on ecosystem health and environmental conditions; however, as countries develop and increase national income, land use changes and environmental degradation are inevitable. This paper explores the inherent tradeoffs between development, disease, and deforestation, using panel regressions with fixed effects to examine the links among malaria, deforestation, and per capita national income for 33 sub-Saharan African countries from 2001-2009. Results of this paper show a significant negative association between forest area and malaria incidence and a significant negative association between malaria and per capita national income. We highlight the significance of the natural insurance of ecosystems on human health and the importance of wildlife conservation and ecosystem health on the growth and prosperity of developing nations.