Govt lowers health budget by 19pc amid missed targets

Dodoma. The government on Thursday announced the Health budget estimates for 2018/19 that are nearly 19 per cent lower than the current budget.

The cut comes against the backdrop of missed targets in the implementation of the current budget.

The Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, asked Parliament to endorse Sh898.3 billion for recurrent and development expenditure, pledging to focus more on enhancing maternal and child health, improving availability of medicines across the country and preventing diseases.

However, the estimates are significantly lower than the Sh1.1 trillion budget for 2017/18.

Ms Mwalimu said the ministry priorities included reducing maternal mortality by investing resources in seven referral hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Katavi, Geita, Rukwa, Kilimanjaro, Iringa and Kigoma regions.

However, the Social Services Committee tabled a report showing that the ministry failed to meet its targets in the current financial year.

The committee’s chairman, Peter Serukamba, said that only 57 per cent of the Sh1.1 trillion passed by Parliament for the current financial year had been disbursed to the ministry by the end of February. The current financial year ends on June 30.

He further revealed that of the money disbursed for the ministry so far, 49 per cent was spent on development projects. The rest went into recurrent expenditure, including paying salaries.

“The committee is of the view that health services provided to the people are inadequate because of poor funding,” Mr Serukamba said.

“Despite the fact that the current financial is drawing to a close, we expect that the government will disburse all the funds passed by Parliament as budgetary allocations for the Ministry,” he added.

Ms Mwalimu later told The Citizen that “changes” in the budget were aimed at cutting dependence on foreign aid.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a reduction. What we have done is reduce dependence on foreign aid in addressing healthcare challenges,’’ she explained.

The minister said she would issue clarification on the matter today following concerns raised by Social Services Committee about the implementation of the current Health budget and estimates proposed for the next financial year.

Ms Mwalimu earlier asked the House to endorse the budget in which Sh304.5 billion would be for recurrent expenditure.

She further said that a total of Sh561.8 billion would be spent on development projects, out of which Sh185 billion would be collected from domestic sources and Sh376.8 billion would be obtained from development partners.

The proposed allocation for community development, gender, elderly and children is Sh32.14 billion.