Climate Change, Malaria Prevalence and Cereal Yields in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the effect of climate change on cereal yields via malaria prevalence in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. To achieve this objective, this paper uses a model composed of a system of two equations estimated with the 3SLS method, the semi-parametric approach and the two-stage system GMM method. Panel data from 31 SSA countries over the period 2000–2019 are used. Results reveal, on the one hand, that a change in temperature and rainfall leads to a significant increase in malaria prevalence. On the other hand, malaria prevalence reduces cereal yields by 2.6% on average in most SSA countries, via its effects on household’s agricultural productivity. To reduce malaria prevalence to increase agricultural yields, policy-makers may need to disseminate malaria-reduction-related practices such as the use of insecticide-treated bed-nets and improving access to malaria treatments in rural dwellings.