Search

5.12.2025 | Country report: ECDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment for Finland, 2024 Under Article 8 of the Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 ASSESSMENT ECDC ASSESSMENT Country report: ECDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessment for Finland, 20...

13.2.2026 | Together Against Cancer – Human-Centred Cancer Prevention and Care National Cancer Strategy 2026–2035 Finland National Cancer Strategy 2026–2035 Contents Summary 3 Strategic objectives 5 Current situation and operating environment 6 Cancer in Finl...

Open positions and the Ministry as a workplace On this page Open positions Trainee positions at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health The Ministry as a workplace Service relationship, working hours, pay, and general collective agreements Well-...

22.12.2025 | The timing and content of health checks at child health clinics and schools, and in student healthcare and oral healthcare will be regulated in future by government decree. Upper secondary level student health checks and preliminary health examinations for compulsory military service will be combined, and an electronic health questionnaire will be introduced.

15.1.2026 | In the first stage, the general social security benefit will be a new social security benefit for unemployed jobseekers, replacing the existing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance. The legislation on the general social security benefit is scheduled to enter into force on 1 May 2026.

15.1.2026 | The changes to be made to social assistance will, for example, strengthen the obligations of recipients to apply for full-time work and primary benefits. The overall reform of social assistance aims to clarify the role of social assistance as a last-resort and temporary form of assistance, prevent social exclusion among young people and strengthen general government finances.

3.12.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has published the Non-Violent Childhoods Action Plan for 2026–2033 aimed at preventing all forms of violence against children. The plan, which will be implemented at the government level, is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Lanzarote Convention and national statutes that require all forms of violence against children to be combated.

27.11.2025 | The Government has issued a decree which determines the amount of the healthcare fee, the late payment fee and the fee for an unattended appointment charged from higher education students in 2026.

9.4.2026 | 1 ADI-ROM(2025)26 Restricted Strasbourg, 9 March 2026 COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON ROMA AND TRAVELLER1 ISSUES (ADI-ROM) 13th meeting Strasbourg, 1-2 April 2026 Explanatory Memorandum Recommendation to the member States on desegregation and inclusion po...

22.9.2025 | The Government has submitted a proposal to Parliament for an act on general social security benefit. In the first stage, the general social security benefit would be a new social security benefit for unemployed jobseekers, replacing labour market subsidy and basic unemployment allowance. The legislation concerning the general social security benefit is scheduled to enter into force on 1 May 2026.

5.12.2025 | 1 Classified as ECDC NORMAL Appendix 10 - Country follow-up to ECDC PHEPA recommendations Following the PHEPA mission conducted in your country, the final ECDC assessment report includes a series of recommendations aiming at supporting your countr...

8.8.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health proposes appropriations of EUR 14.8 billion for the Ministry and its branch of government for 2026. This is about EUR 475 million less than in the 2025 Budget. The funding of wellbeing services counties is not included in the appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its branch of government. Instead, it falls under the main title of the Ministry of Finance.

22.9.2025 | The Finnish Government proposes EUR 14.8 billion in appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its branch of government for 2026. This is about EUR 0.5 billion less than in the 2025 Budget.

22.9.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has today published three memorandums assessing the combined impacts of the Government’s changes to social security during this parliamentary term. The memorandums focus particularly on the impacts of the comprehensive reform of social assistance.

25.11.2025 | Finland will publish its new national Action Plan for the Istanbul Convention on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The objective of the Istanbul Convention is to ensure that every girl and woman has a future without violence. Finland’s new action plan, covering the years 2026–2033, outlines several long-term objectives and lists altogether 37 practical measures.

10.10.2025 | The digital therapies experiment launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has proceeded to the pilot phase. The experiment brings together public-sector and private-sector operators to test how digital solutions fit into the daily operations of healthcare services. Of 24 applications, ten digital therapy solutions were selected for the experiment.

22.9.2025 | The Government proposes a comprehensive reform of social assistance. The changes to be made would, for example, strengthen the obligations of recipients to apply for full-time work and primary benefits. The aim is to clarify the role of social assistance as a last-resort and temporary form of assistance, prevent social exclusion among young people and strengthen general government finances.

4.7.2025 | Starting from 1 September 2025, persons aged 65 and over can book a private healthcare appointment and pay only a deductible that is equal to the client fee charged for public healthcare services. The pilot is based on developing the reimbursements paid by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela). The President of the Republic approved the legislative amendments enabling the pilot on 4 July 2025.

Arbetet med missbruk av berusningsmedel och annat beroendebeteende Kortfattat Syftet med arbetet med missbruk av berusningsmedel och annat beroendebeteende är att minska skadeverkningarna och främja hälsan, välfärden och säkerheten. Välfärdsområde...

22.6.2022 | On 22 June, the Ministerial Working Group on COVID-19 received an epidemiological review as well as an overview of the updated vaccination strategy and testing and tracing strategy.

Housing allowance The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the general planning, guidance and supervision of the housing allowance legislation. The Ministry of Education and Culture in turn is responsible for the housing supple...

Insurance business in Finland is subject to licence.The government grants licences to authorised pension insurance companies that manage earnings-related pension insurance.

Occupational accidents and occupational diseases The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for developing and preparing the legislation concerning insurance against occupational accidents and diseases. The workers’ compensation insu...

14.3.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health held a stakeholder event on 11 March to discuss the pandemic treaty that is currently being negotiated under the World Health Organization (WHO). The aim of the treaty is to strengthen international preparedness for pandemics and other public health emergencies. 

Pension security in Finland The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for developing and drafting pension legislation. The pension system is based on a number of different acts. The pension acts can be found here: Legislation concer...

Department for Safety, Security and Health The Department for Safety, Security and Health handles issues pertaining to: organising environmental healthcare and health protection alcohol, tobacco and drug policy and the prevention of harm caused by...

Social rehabilitering främjar delaktighet Social rehabilitering är socialservice och med socialservice avses intensifierat och målinriktat stöd med hjälp av socialt arbete och social handledning för att förbättra och upprätthålla social funktionsf...

Earnings-related pension People earn earnings-related pension based on their earnings from work or self-employment. An earnings-related pension is paid to a person who has accrued pension according to their earnings either in an employment relatio...

Socialvårdstjänster Social- och hälsovårdsministeriet ansvarar för socialpolitiken och bereder lagstiftningen om socialvården. Socialvården omfattar främjande av social trygghet och välfärd samt de uppgifter och den service inom socialvården som f...

Avgifter för social- och hälsovård 2026 De klient- och patientavgifter för social- och hälsovård som fastställs i lagstiftningen är maximiavgifter. Välfärdsområdet bestämmer om det tar ut de högsta avgifterna som fastställs i lagen eller förordnin...

“You rarely get such a close view of how decisions are communicated” Neea Hassinen worked as a communications intern at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, where she developed online communications and contributed to current affairs communi...

Avgiftstak för hälso- och sjukvården För avgifter inom den offentliga hälso- och sjukvården finns ett avgiftstak per kalenderår. Från och med ingången av 2025 är avgiftstaket 762 euro per kalenderår. En indexjustering görs i avgiftstaket vartannat...

Preventing sexual harassment at work Sexual harassment is a major problem in terms of employment, wellbeing at work, careers and gender equality in working life. According to a survey by Statistics Finland, 54 per cent of women and 14 per cent of ...

Tjänster och förmåner för äldre Kortfattat Den sociala tryggheten för äldre består av olika serviceformer inom social- och hälsovården samt av utkomstskydd. Ansvaret för att organisera tjänsterna ligger hos välfärdsområdena som bedömer servicebeho...

Occupational safety and health (OSH) The MSAH prepares and develops legislation and policies on OSH and deals with international cooperation in this field. The ministry also guides the occupational safety and health work of the The Finnish Supervi...

21.12.2023 | Finland’s communicable diseases legislation is being reformed in 2023–2025. During the reform, a number of thematic workshops will be organised to give the key stakeholders an opportunity to express their views. The first workshop was held on 18 December under the theme business activities and employment.

Frågor och svar om lagstiftningen om mentalvård och rusmedel Mentalvården, missbrukar- och beroendevården samt mentalvårds- och rusmedelsarbetet inom socialvården regleras främst genom hälso- och sjukvårdslagen och socialvårdslagen. I mentalvårdsl...

12.5.2023 | The measures launched during the working capacity programme to create a more inclusive labour market and to employ people with impaired working capacity should be continued and developed further. The employees’ ability to work is an essential factor in the pursuit of a higher employment rate. These are some conclusions of the evaluation report on the recently completed working capacity programme.

20.12.2022 | The Government decided on 20 December that private healthcare providers will receive supplies of the current coronavirus booster vaccine. The decision aims to ensure that not only people at risk serious COVID-19 infection can get vaccinated.

11.6.2020 | FINNISH GOVERNMENT | Snellmaninkatu 1 A, Helsinki, PO Box 23, FI-00023 Government, Finland Prime Minister Marin’s Government decides basis for health and social services reform The Government has finalised the policy outlines for the health and so...

10.1.2024 | In the first phase of the national health and wellbeing programme Terveydeksi (‘To Your Health’), concrete measures will be selected based on scientific expertise. The implementation of the measures in the second phase will start in autumn 2024. 

6.9.2022 | The EU health ministers are holding an informal meeting in Prague on 7 September 2022. They will discuss the health impacts of the war in Ukraine, vaccinations, the implementation of the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan and other issues related to cancer.

fi sv Ny lagstiftning om funktionshinderservice Den nya lagen om funktionshinderservice (675/2023) trädde i kraft den 1 januari 2025. Lagen innefattar en övergångsperiod på tre år. Lagens tillämpningsområde har preciserats, och ändringarna i lagen...

Lagstiftningen gällande socialvården reformeras.

10.2.2022 | The national strategy for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing has been updated. The aim is to identify the causes of severe respiratory infections and to prevent the spread of infections particularly among groups of people who have a high risk of developing a more serious form of the disease.

30.9.2022 | Various parties are currently reviewing the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization is preparing a new pandemic treaty to improve pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. On 28 September, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health arranged a meeting for stakeholders to discuss the treaty negotiations.

24.6.2024 | C O P E N H A G E N I N S T I T U T E F O R F U T U R E S S T U D I E S Future trends & opportunities in the health and well-being sector J U N E 2 0 2 4 P E T E R A A D A L N I E L S E N The Institute at a glance P A G E 3 CIFS is an independent,...

24.2.2022 | The need for hospital care has remained at a high but stable level. It is recommended that everyone aged 18 years or over take a third vaccine dose. The epidemiological situation is still serious. For that reason, the focus will be on people’s own measures to prevent the spread of infections as the restrictions are eased.

1.2.2023 | The National Genome Strategy responds to the challenges of a rapidly changing operating environment. The strategy brings together actions to utilise genomic data for the benefit of citizens’ health.

9.12.2022 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health requests comments on a proposal for amending the Government Decree on Voluntary COVID-19 Vaccinations. The amendment would make it possible to offer COVID-19 vaccines to children aged six months or over. Under the Decree currently in force, the minimum age for children to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is five years. The deadline for submitting comments is 5 January 2023.

26.10.2020 | As part of the preparation of the health and social services reform, an exercise will be carried out to establish cooperation between the central government and the future wellbeing services counties. This will be done during the negotiations designed to provide the counties with guidance and direction. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health will hold the negotiations with the counties between 27 October and 4 December.

5.12.2022 | The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing a new international pandemic treaty to improve pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The aim is for the treaty to be ready in May 2024. The third meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to discuss the treaty will be held in Geneva on 5–7 December.

10.2.2022 | The need for hospital care due to COVID-19 has stayed at a high but stable level for two weeks now. The burden on intensive care has reduced considerably since mid-January. Getting a third vaccine dose is an important way of preventing the more serious forms of the disease and curbing the burden on hospital care.

23.9.2021 | In Finland, 83 per cent of the target population for COVID-19 vaccination, i.e. people who are 12 years of age or over, have received at least their first vaccine dose, and 67 per cent also their second vaccine dose. The uptake of the second vaccine dose is more than 86 per cent in the age group of over 60-year-olds. Among people aged between 50 and 59, the uptake is already nearly 82 per cent and, among people aged between 40 and 49, over 73 per cent.

27.10.2022 | COVID-19 cases are spreading widely among the population, but especially vaccinated people have a lower risk of developing the severe form of the disease. The number of people in hospitals with COVID-19 has increased. However, a large number of these patients are treated mainly for some other reason than COVID-19. Multiple COVID-19 variants are circulating in Finland, but their impact on the epidemic is not yet clear. 

17.9.2020 | The Social Security Committee, which started work in spring 2020, will first determine which social security problems it will seek to solve. Before the summer holidays, the Committee outlined four sets of key social security problems: 1) the complexity of social security; 2) combining employment and social security; 3) minimum social security, basic social security and housing; and 4) coordination of services and benefits.

19.8.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained at almost the same level as the week before. The total number of new cases reported between 9 and 15 August was 5,163, whereas in the previous week the number of new cases was 5,072. Currently, COVID-19 is spreading especially among unvaccinated young people and young adults.

16.9.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases has been on a slow decline for the past four weeks. The total number of new cases reported between 6 and 12 September was 3,119. This is about 750 cases fewer than the week before when the figure was 3,887. The epidemic continues to spread especially among unvaccinated 20–49-year-olds.

9.9.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases continues to fall in Finland, but the number is still high. The total number of new cases reported between 30 August and 5 September was 3,842. This is about 300 cases fewer than the week before when the figure was 4,175.

9.5.2022 | 1 Research plan / Tutkimussuunnitelma Evidencing the Effectiveness of Health Social Work Assessment and Interventions Terveyssosiaalityön arvioinnin ja intervention vaikuttavuus näkyväksi (Sostyö-TerVa) 1. Aim and objectives 1.1 Significance of re...