Why Health Ministry Failed to Implement 2025 Budget, Explains Pate

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has explained why it was unable to effectively implement its 2025 budget, attributing the failure largely to poor release of capital funds and systemic fiscal constraints.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Health, where he presented the ministry’s budget performance for the 2025 fiscal year. According to Pate, I although the ministry was allocated about ₦218 billion for capital projects in the 2025 budget, only ₦36 million was eventually released, making meaningful implementation virtually impossible. He noted that while personnel costs and recurrent expenditures were fully funded, capital releases — which are critical for infrastructure development, equipment procurement and health facility upgrades — were grossly inadequate. The minister explained that the limited releases were not due to inefficiency within the ministry but were largely caused by cash-flow challenges faced by the Federal Government. He pointed to the “bottom-up cash planning system” used in budget execution, which prioritises available funds across ministries, departments and agencies, often leaving capital projects underfunded. Pate also revealed that delays in the release of counterpart funding affected the ministry’s ability to access donor-supported programmes. Many international health interventions require the Nigerian government to provide matching funds before external financing can be drawn down, a condition that could not be met in several instances during the year. He stressed that the situation led to stalled projects across the country, including hospital renovations, equipment supply and expansion of health services. As a result, several capital projects approved for 2025 will now have to be rolled over into subsequent budgets. The minister acknowledged long-standing structural challenges in health sector financing, noting that delayed and partial capital releases have been a recurring problem over the years. He said the ministry is working with relevant authorities to improve budget execution, strengthen domestic health financing and ensure better alignment between budget approvals and actual cash backing. Members of the House committee expressed concern over the impact of the funding shortfall on the healthcare system and called for improved coordination between the executive and the legislature to ensure that approved budgets translate into tangible improvements in public health delivery.