The debate surrounding the 2026 budget for the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene has sparked serious concerns among members of parliament and the public. An apparent decrease in funding allocated to the health sector has fueled questions, criticism, and fears, in a context marked by the high cost of healthcare, a shortage of medical personnel, a lack of equipment, and deteriorating conditions in several healthcare facilities. In response to these concerns, the Minister of Finance and Budget, Cheikh Diba, sought to clarify the situation during the presentation of the Finance and Budget Control Committee's general report in plenary session this Thursday at the National Assembly.

Technical transfers, not a real reduction

According to the Minister of Finance, the decrease observed in the Ministry of Health's budget in no way reflects a disengagement of the State from the health sector. It is "purely mechanical" and results from technical reorganizations between ministerial departments. "The first explanation concerns the transfer of 3.7 billion FCFA from the Social Protection Program, now attached to the Ministry of Family, Social Action, and Solidarity," he said.

This reallocation, according to him, aims to refocus this program within a department whose core mission is directly linked to social policies and the care of vulnerable populations. The second explanation is even more significant: “85 billion FCFA, initially allocated in the Ministry of Health's budget for the construction of healthcare infrastructure, have been transferred to the Ministry of Infrastructure. This decision reflects a desire to consolidate and better coordinate all construction and development investments within a specialized department.” Added to this are funds transferred to the Ministry of the Armed Forces, further reinforcing the impression of a sharp decrease in the Health budget.

A real increase of 38.6 billion FCFA

“These redeployments, primarily administrative, distort the overall picture,” Cheikh Diba insisted before the members of parliament. A detailed analysis reveals a net increase of approximately 38.6 billion FCFA in the resources actually allocated to the health sector. In other words, even if the Ministry of Health's budget lines appear to be declining on paper, funding for health policies has, in reality, been strengthened across various government departments. As a reminder, the 2026 draft budget for the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene is set at 274,284,957,940 FCFA in commitment authorizations (CA) and 217,278,557,940 FCFA in payment appropriations (PA).