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🇳🇵 Nepal /Economy & Trade

Birthing centres, crucial for mother and newborn safety, face funding cuts under new budget

From Kathmandu Post · (4m ago) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Nepal's government has reduced health budgets by 20% across federal, provincial, and local levels for the fiscal year 2026-27, impacting public health programs.
  • The Safe Motherhood program, credited with significantly reducing maternal and child mortality, faces a severe funding crunch, with current allocations only sufficient for four months.
  • Thousands of contract health workers may lose their jobs, jeopardizing services like birthing centers and lab support, raising concerns about the long-term repercussions for public health.

Kathmandu Post reports with deep concern on the drastic budget cuts impacting Nepal's vital public health initiatives, particularly the Safe Motherhood program. The government's decision to slash health budgets by 20% across all levels for the upcoming fiscal year threatens to unravel years of progress in reducing maternal and child mortality.

The budget ceiling given for public health programmes such as the safe motherhood programme is sufficient only for four months.

— Dr Madan Kumar Upadhyaya, Director at the Family Welfare DivisionHe explains the severe impact of the budget cuts on the Safe Motherhood program.

This move, stemming from the dismissal of contract employees and a general budget reduction, is particularly alarming given the success of the Safe Motherhood program, which has been credited with saving countless lives. Officials warn that current allocations are insufficient for even half the year, potentially leading to the cessation of services provided by over 2,700 birthing centers and essential lab support in health posts.

Several programmes of public health, in which the country has invested a lot and has national and international commitments to, will be affected if the budget is not increased.

— Dr Madan Kumar Upadhyaya, Director at the Family Welfare DivisionHe warns about the broader consequences of the reduced health budget.

The implications extend to thousands of contract health workers who face job losses, a situation former health minister Dr. Sudha Gautam decries as having serious repercussions. The government's focus on fiscal austerity appears to overlook the critical role these programs and personnel play in safeguarding the health of mothers and newborns, a national priority that now hangs precariously in the balance.

We have not planned a new programme of public health for the upcoming fiscal year due to a low budget ceiling.

— Nisha Joshi, Public Health Officer at the Family Welfare DivisionShe highlights the paralysis in public health planning due to funding constraints.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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