Using a sample of 34 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1990–2012, this paper reveals that health aid helps to improve health outcomes in sub-Saharan African countries. More specifically, for each additional unit of health aid, the prevalence of HIV decreases by 8.3% and child mortality decreases by 64% over 4 years. This effect operates mainly through the improvement of female education and the increase in health spending. Furthermore, the results do not support the hypothesis of a significant difference between post-conflict states and stable states in terms of aid effectiveness.