Multiple programmes of health care services that were planned for the ongoing fiscal year have been affected, as budgets allocated for the programmes have not been released even in the last month of the third trimester.

Officials blamed the delay in the disbursement of the budget from the Ministry of Finance for the problems.

“Yes, regular programmes of health care services of this year have been affected due to delay in releasing the budget,” Dr Roshan Pokhrel, secretary for Health and Population, told the Post. “We have demanded disbursement of an allocated budget from the Ministry of Finance.”

Officials at the Health Ministry said that most of the affected programmes in health care are those planned from a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The USAID is among the prominent donors that provides budgetary grants to the government.

Nepal accepted a $659 million (Rs79.71 billion) grant from the United States Agency for International Development in April last year.

The aid amount was about $100 million more than the total disbursement by the US government through USAID over the previous five years till the end of mid-July 2021, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Officials at the Ministry of Finance said that even if a deal was signed for five years, the USAID disburses the amount in yearly instalments.

The Ministry of Finance includes the grant in its red book and allocates it to the ministries whose programme the aid agency agrees to support.

In the current fiscal year too, the ministry mentioned the grant in the red book but failed to allocate the amount to the Health Ministry.

Health officials said they are informed that even the yearly allotment would be disbursed once a deal is signed between the Ministry of Finance and USAID.

“I don’t think the grant would stop due to the absence of another deal with USAID,” said Narayan Dhakal, an official at the International Cooperation Coordination Department of the Ministry of Finance. “The grant amount was committed by the aid agency last year and a deal was signed then.”

The USAID supports the government to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals related programmes including maternal and child health, nutrition, reproductive health and family planning.

The agency also helped strengthen the healthcare system, equipping different levels of government—federal, provincial and local—and ensuring quality healthcare services. Officials said that the agency also provides budgetary support to several local units of Karnali Province.

“This is the last month of the third trimester, but the budget has not been released for the programme, which we planned to carry out for this year,” said Lila Bikram Thapa, chief of the nutrition section at the Family Welfare Division, under the Department of Health Services. “We have drawn the attention of the department and the Health Ministry about the impacts of releasing the budget on time.”

According to the Health Ministry, the amount of grant from USAID in the health care programmes for the ongoing fiscal year is Rs470 million.

Most programmes of capacity development, awareness, health sector strengthening epidemic control, and training have been affected, according to them.

“We have already drawn the attention of the Health Ministry and later of the Finance Ministry,” said Bhuwan Prasad Kafle, chief account comptroller at the Department of Health Services. “Planned health programmes have been affected, as we have not got the budget.”

The Post’s attempts to talk to USAID officials did not succeed.

Meanwhile, Secretary Pokhrel said he was informed by finance officials that the budget for healthcare programmes of USAID will be released soon.