Oluga Cautions Health Officials on Budget Inflation
the reduction in allocations to cover actual needs has incurred serious issues. The proportion of approved funds has diminished from 60 percent to 28 percent
Oluga also raised concern over the shrinking budget allocation for health. He noted that the sector’s funding has dropped by 9.5 percent, from KSh 113.5 billion in 2022/23 to KSh 102.7 billion in 2024/25. PHOTO/@fnoluga/X
By Juliet Jerotich
Principal Secretary of Medical Services Dr. Ouma Oluga has warned health officials against presenting overestimated and unrealistic budgetary proposals. He urged them to use the resources wisely and make every shilling work to better the healthcare of Kenyans.
Speaking of addressing the Financial Year 2026/27 and Medium-Term Budget release on Thursday, August 28, 2025, Oluga stressed efficiency and accountability. He asserted that health facilities ought to come up with proposals that are accurate in terms of needs and not inflated.
The PS reminded the officials that they must ensure that the requests for the budget were in tandem with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). He also stated that they must be within the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and support the national goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“Even though the budget is numbers on paper, it is a reflection of our shared mission to get better health outcomes for Kenyans,” said Dr. Oluga. “They need to be realistic, they need to be justified, and prioritized against government priorities,” he added.
Oluga also had concerns with the reduction in budgetary provision for healthcare. He showed that the funding of the sector has reduced by 9.5 percent, from KSh 113.5 billion during 2022/23 to KSh 102.7 billion during 2024/25. The requirements for health have grown by more than twice in the same period of time.
According to him, the reduction in allocations to cover actual needs has incurred serious issues. The proportion of approved funds has diminished from 60 percent to 28 percent of the requested amount. Shortages have resulted in medicine, food stock, and salary shortages. It has also incurred pending accounts in hospitals and other healthcare organizations.
In spite of the hurdles, Oluga referred to numerous achievements in the area of health. They are improvements in HIV treatment, immunization, blood transfusion, and family planning interventions. He also referred to improvements in specialized care such as kidney transplants and heart surgery.
The PS also referred to new national health infrastructure initiatives. He appreciated the implementation of a computerized health information system that is improving the delivery of services.
Oluga concluded by urging the health officials to use prudence in dealing with public funds. He argued that every coin lost in the health sector should speak volumes to how Kenyans’ lives are improved.
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