Budget cuts affect Ministry of Health

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 15: All sectors in the country continue to endure the negative effects of the economic crisis and the “financial deficit” that Kuwait is going through, amid the absence of real financial remedies. Meanwhile, the government is content to reduce the budget of ministries and government agencies in a bid to cut expenditures, reports Al-Rai daily.

While many world countries, in light of the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis, are heading towards strengthening the budgets of their health sectors, reliable sources highlighted that the reduction of government budgets has recently affected the Ministry of Health by about KD 135 million.

They said, “Such a reduction will put the Ministry of Health in front of a major challenge, especially in light of the delicate circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions. The precautionary measures and steps that follow, for the most part, are the responsibility of the ministry. This, without any doubt, requires strengthening of its budget and not the opposite”.

The sources affirmed that the Ministry of Health understands the exceptional circumstances at the present time and the huge responsibilities entrusted to it, adding, “The ministry suffers mainly from the accumulation of debts from previous years, most notably the claims of American hospitals estimated at $677 million, which doubles the size of the financial challenges that the ministry will face during the coming period.”

Faced with this reality, the Ministry of Health is striving to “establish a balance between its urgent needs on one hand and the financial situation of the state on the other, by seeking to harmonize the ministry’s guarantee of securing its needs and providing services according to the highest standards of quality and safety, despite the reduction of its budget.”

This news has been read 25698 times!