By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has during the ongoing budget discussions requested an 11% increase in budget for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, indicating a bold push to address critical health priorities, scale up infrastructure projects, and all lifesaving interventions while moving towards the Abuja declaration target of 15%.
According to officials of the ministry, for FY 2023, the ministry requested a budget estimate of NLE 201, 120.00 (two hundred and one million, one hundred and twenty New Leones) and only received NLE 134, 918.05 (one hundred and thirty-four million, nine hundred and eighteen thousand New Leones) whilst, for FY 2024, they requested NLE 234, 159.15 (two hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and fifty-nine thousand New Leones) and only received NLE 78, 924.90 (seventy eight million, nine hundred and twenty four thousand New Leones).
During his budget presentation at the Ministry of Finance on the 20th of August 2024, the Director of Reproductive and Child Health, Dr. Tom Sesay noted that the ministry faces significant fiscal challenges with budget approvals and funds disbursements. He said that in FY 2023, 31% of the requested budget was approved and 67% disbursed by the end of the year whilst for FY 2024, only 37% of the requested budget was approved, and merely 34% has been disbursed by mid-year and for 2025, they want to ensure full and timely disbursement of the approved budget which he said is crucial for achieving the ministry’s healthcare objectives.
Highlighting Gender responsiveness in the FY 2025 budget, he stated that the ministry wants to expand and improve the management of free healthcare for reproductive health and family planning and engage in nationwide reproductive and child health programmes, training for health workers, and procurement of HIV/AIDS commodities.
He further stated that the ministry’s target for FY 2025 is to reduce maternal mortality ratio by 50% across 16 districts by 2027, decrease under-five mortality to 47 deaths per 1,000 (one thousand) live births by 2027 and reduce HIV incidents by 205 among adults aged 15-49 by the same 2027, hence requesting for a budget allocation of NLE 6.4 million for the mentioned activities.
Explaining the intervention in disease prevention and control, Dr. Sesay noted that the ministry will continuously improve disease prevention, control, and surveillance and planned to train health workers on hepatitis, measles, and malaria; expanding gender unit functionality. He said that the ministry’s target is to complete the first phase of the National Diagnostic Centre in Kerry Town by 2027 and they requested a budget allocation of NLE 70.4 million to achieve the aforementioned interventions.
He pointed out that by 2025; the Ministry projected revenue of NLE 8,041.44 (eight million and forty-one thousand New Leones) from user fees at tertiary hospitals. He said that the revenue projected will improve the financial sustainability of these facilities, strengthening their capacity to deliver specialized medical services.
“The user fees, structured to align with the affordability thresholds are expected to not only improve service quality but also ensure that the hospitals can continue to reinvest in medical technologies and patient care improvements,” he said.
The Director of Reproductive and Child Health reiterated that the Ministry’s FY 2025 budget will be focused on its priorities that are directly aligned with the National Medium-Term Development Plan (2024-2030), focusing on improving healthcare access, infrastructure, and outcomes.
He went on to note that the ministry will strengthen the National Emergency Service (NEMS) by enhancing ambulance and emergency response systems for better patient outcomes, and strengthen emergency care services including Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) by expanding capacity for rapid response and treatment in critical care situations. He assured that the ministry will operationalize the National Public Health Agency (NPHA) and ensure effective disease prevention, control, and response by 2025.
He affirmed that the ministry’s budget is a “Game Changer” for national health, supporting its top priorities-improving primary healthcare, enhancing hospital services, expanding emergency care, and strengthening health security. He said it is critical to achieving national targets as the ministry aims to cut maternal mortality by 50%, reduce infant mortality, and build the infrastructure needed to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
Dr. Sesay concluded the budget presentation by requesting a budget estimate of NLE 700.18 (seven hundred million New Leones) which he said is an investment that “will transform health outcomes, increase life expectancy, and reduce healthcare costs for our citizens.”
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