Civil society groups in South Sudan have expressed concern over reduced funding for education and health in the proposed 2025/2026 national budget.
Activists say allocations to the two ministries have fallen compared with the 2024/2025 financial year, despite an overall increase in government spending. They warn the cuts could affect service delivery and the welfare of children across the country.
The concerns were raised during the conclusion of a public hearing on Friday.
Samuel Chor Alier, national coordinator of the Child Rights Civil Society Coalition, said both sectors had seen their share of the budget decline.
“Despite the growth of the total government budget, the Ministry of General Education and Instruction’s share has dropped,” he said.
According to Alier, the education ministry’s share has fallen from 4.3% in previous fiscal years to 1.7% in the current proposal.
He said this was inconsistent with the government’s commitment to allocate at least 10% of its annual budget to general education.
“We are very concerned about the government’s commitment,” he said. “This is not in line with the pledge to prioritise education.”
On health financing, Alier said that while the ministry’s overall allocation had increased in nominal terms, its share of the total budget had declined.
He said funding for the Ministry of Health rose from 41.4 billion South Sudanese pounds in 2023/2024 to 66 billion in 2024/2025, and is projected to reach 93.9 billion in 2025/2026.
However, he added that the sector’s share of the budget had fallen from 2% in 2023/2024 to 1% in the current proposal.
Alier linked the funding gaps to worsening humanitarian conditions, citing figures from the 2026 South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan.
Kaunda David, a program manager at Amalna South Sudan, called for reforms to the budget process, including adherence to legal allocations for education, health and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
He questioned why legal provisions on education funding were not being respected.
“The Education Act 2012 says give 10%,” he said. “I am a teacher by profession. I am not teaching. Ask me why, because there is nobody to pay salaries for teachers.”
David urged lawmakers to guarantee minimum allocations to essential sectors.
“Assure us that we are going to get 10% for education, 10% for health and 3% for CDF,” he said.
He also criticised repeated delays in passing the national budget, saying they undermine salary payments and service delivery.
“The constitution says pass the budget before 1 July,” he said. “For the past three fiscal years, it has been presented late. Why are we playing with citizens?”
Michael Johnson Ayuen, chairperson of the parliamentary finance committee, said parliament was committed to incorporating comments raised during the public hearing.