Mapping the Literature on Development Assistance in Health: A Bibliometric Analysis

Karwa O., Jain R., Deo S. Observer Research Foundation (2024) CC
This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the literature on private health aid and official health assistance between 2000 and 2022. It provides an overview of the sites and themes in the literature pertaining to development assistance in health, and collates the significant policy recommendations presented therein. Several crucial findings emerge from the bibliometric analysis: 44.2 percent of the 489 papers/articles assessed focused on lower-middle-income countries, while 37.7 percent focused on low-income countries. However, authors affiliated with institutes and organisations from lower-middle- and low-income countries contributed merely 15.5 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively, of the papers assessed. Most (72.7 percent) were written by authors from highmiddle- and high-income countries. Additionally, despite non-governmental organisations, philanthropies, and private businesses constituting about 20 percent of development assistance donors, a mere 4 percent of all papers focused on these entities.