Mexico Health Funds Unused During Measles Rise

Failures in the execution of the federal health sector budget have been documented in an official report delivered to the Congress of the Union, in a context marked by an increase in measles cases in Mexico. The Ministry of Health acknowledged that more than 300 million pesos allocated to key areas of prevention, disease control, and epidemiology were not utilized during 2025.

During 2025, the agency reported to the Permanent Commission of the Legislative Branch the “Amount and execution of subsidies granted by the agencies and entities.” That document details that the joint budget allocated to the bodies responsible for disease control and epidemiology was 1,200,663,000 pesos. Of that total, only 895 million pesos allocated to those sectors were spent.

The report specifies that the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control had an “original subsidy” of 1,038,000,000 pesos, but during January-December it only spent 765 million. In the case of the General Directorate of Epidemiology, the “original subsidy” was 162,599,000 pesos, with a reported expenditure of 130,457,000 pesos.

The sum of unspent funds between both instances reaches 305 million pesos. Of that total, 271,921,113 pesos correspond to the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control. The remaining 32,142,000 pesos relate to the General Directorate of Epidemiology, according to the official data presented to the Legislature.

Furthermore, the report clarifies that the Federal Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law allows agencies to report adjustments and pending expenditures until March. This deadline is established in accordance with the decree of the Federal Expenditure Budget for 2025 approved by the Chamber of Deputies. Nevertheless, the figures presented reflect amounts not reported as spent at the close of the January-December period.

Other areas of the health sector also recorded relevant underspending. The General Directorate of Health Promotion had an “original subsidy” of 350,013,357 pesos and spent 314,354,571 pesos, leaving 35,658,786 pesos unused. Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Quality and Health Education received 24,469,790 pesos, although the report shows no record of budget execution at the end of the year.

Similar situations appear in the National Center for Child and Adolescent Health, with an allocated subsidy of 37,989,823 pesos without a report of spent funds. In the National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions, of 204,945,854 pesos allocated, 149,014,185 pesos were spent.

Finally, the document includes the National System for the Integral Development of the Family, with a subsidy of 2,277,936,322 pesos and an expenditure of 1,247,035,959 pesos. By contrast, the National Center for the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS reported an expenditure of 87,579,797 pesos, a figure higher than the 83,953,739 pesos originally authorized. The National Center for Gender Equity, Sexual and Reproductive Health spent 929,408,155 pesos of an allocated subsidy of 1,538,388,583 pesos.