Budget changes, cuts in education and health funds, increases for infrastructure

2025-07-08 07:59:00, Ekonomi CNA

The mid-year amendments to the 2025 budget that were approved a few days ago by parliament further increase funding for infrastructure projects, while funds for education and health were reduced compared to the budget at the beginning of the year.

Albania has great needs for financing human capital to curb emigration and increase productivity through increasing the quality of knowledge and health, but physical infrastructure continues to remain a public policy priority.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has benefited from an increase of 2.85 billion lek compared to the initial budget, with a total budget of 76.88 billion lek according to Normative Act No. 6, with an increase of 4% compared to the initial budget.

The largest funding is focused on road transport, with an additional 2 billion lek or 6.6% more, indicating priority for road projects.

Water supply and sanitation have a budget increase of 864 million lek or 6.1%. The energy support program has an increase in funding of 200 million lek, 6% compared to the initial budget. Railway transport has suffered a decrease of 393 million lek or 6.5%, which may indicate a slowdown in new projects in this sector.

On the other hand, for the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the total budget has decreased by 100 million lek compared to the budget at the beginning of the year. Within the ministry, there are major movements in the budget items. University Education has suffered a decrease of 300 million lek or -2%. In contrast, Science Funds have increased by 100 million lek or 7%, a positive signal for scientific research and innovation.

Also, the 2025 budget changes for the Ministry of Health and Social Protection reflect an overall budget reduction of about 1 billion lek (-1.3%) compared to the initial budget.

The most affected sector is primary care. The largest percentage decrease occurred in Primary Care Services, with a cut of 1.3 billion lek (-19.3%). This is a severe blow to the first link of citizens' contact with the health system and could directly affect outpatient services, health centers and early diagnostics.

Public Health Services have also suffered a significant decrease of 334 million lek (-6.7%). This may include interventions in vaccination campaigns, infectious disease control, or epidemiological surveillance./ Monitor Magazine