The government allocates a modest 4.6 percent of its annual budget to the health sector

The government has allocated Rs 86.24 billion for the health sector for the coming financial year, an increase of about 2.5% from the Rs 83.99 billion allocation for the current financial year.

The new allocation is only about 4.6 percent. total budget.

The funds were allocated to ensure the continuity of most of the implemented programs – safe motherhood programs, free basic medicines, the creation of primary health care centers in all departments throughout the country and financial assistance for people suffering from difficult and expensive diseases – cardiovascular diseases, cancer, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, head and spine injuries, sickle cell anemia and stroke.

The healthcare budget also includes grants to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal Police Hospital, Nepal Military Hospital, Civil Hospital and others.

The state budget announced several new programs, including the establishment of the Sita Dahal Memorial College of Naturopathy and Yoga Science at the University of Kathmandu. Sita Dahal is the wife of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who died in July last year.

Health experts said the current government has also neglected the health sector this year as the slight increase in the annual budget is not conducive to continuing the existing health program.

“How can we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals with the budget allocated to the health sectors?” said Mahendra Prasad Shrestha, former chief specialist at the Ministry of Health and Population. “We need to introduce qualitative changes, and this requires huge investments.”

Cuts in the previous year’s budget have already affected several health care programs, including safe motherhood programs, child health programs, tuberculosis control programs, nutrition, vector control programs, epidemic control programs, non-communicable diseases and mental health programs.

Similarly, the budget does not take into account the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

Noncommunicable diseases — such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease — have recently become major public health problems, accounting for 71 percent of deaths in the country.

A 2019 study by the Nepal Health Research Council on the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, which focused primarily on behavioral risk factors – tobacco and alcohol consumption, biological risk factors, high blood pressure, overweight, obesity, abnormal lipids, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes – recognized non-communicable diseases have emerged as major killers.

In recent years, Nepal has experienced several outbreaks of dengue, cholera, diarrhea and other vector-borne diseases. The country has failed to achieve its malaria elimination target.

“One person commits suicide every hour, the number of non-communicable diseases is increasing alarmingly, and the number of neonatal deaths has not decreased for several years,” Shrestha said. “Several health programs, including free screening for cervical cancer and kidney diseases at government health facilities, could not be implemented due to various reasons. The health budget does not even allow for the continuation of the programs we have started.”

Experts warn that budget cuts to key healthcare programs will have long-term effects and could impact achievements made over the years.

“The government has not allocated the health budget to strengthen federal structures,” said Dr. Padam Bahadur Chand, former head of the Policy Planning and International Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Health. “Most of the health care budget will go to employee salaries.”