Minister of Health Ana Paula Martins has confirmed that several health unit projects will lose funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência or PRR) due to missed construction deadlines. While acknowledging the loss, the minister emphasized that the country's health infrastructure development will continue beyond the scope of these specific European funds.
Health Minister confirms loss of EU recovery funds
Tuesday, 23 June 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
Ana Paula Martins is a Portuguese pharmacist and politician who has served as the Minister of Health in Portugal since April 2024. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), she was reappointed to the position in the second government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in June 2025.
Professional Background
Pharmaceutical Leadership: She served as the President of the Order of Pharmacists (Bastonária da Ordem dos Farmacêuticos) from 2016 to 2022.
Hospital Management: She was the President of the Board of Directors of Hospital de Santa Maria (CHULN) in Lisbon from December 2022 to January 2024.
Academic Work: She holds a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy and has been an assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon for over 20 years.
Political Career
Government Role: As Minister of Health, she has overseen the implementation of the "SNS Emergency Plan" and recently addressed issues such as INEM staffing and public-private partnerships in healthcare.
Party Leadership: She served as Vice President of the PSD under Rui Rio (2021–2022).
Parliament: She was elected as a member of the Assembly of the Republic representing the Lisbon constituency in 2024.
The PRR (Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência) is Portugal's national program under the EU's NextGenerationEU recovery fund, worth approximately €22.2 billion — roughly €16.6 billion in grants plus €5.6 billion in loans. Approved in 2021, it funds reforms and investments across housing, digital transition, climate action, healthcare, and public administration.
Payments from the European Commission are tied to specific milestones and targets. Missed deadlines or incomplete reforms can delay disbursements, affecting public works, infrastructure projects, and social programs that depend on PRR funding.
The PRR is one of the largest investment programs in Portugal's recent history and touches areas from affordable housing construction to hospital modernization, school renovation, and green energy transition. Progress is monitored by the European Commission through regular reviews.
