Search

Urgent and emergency health services Wellbeing services counties must organise 24-hour services for dealing with urgent cases. Patients can receive urgent care at urgent care centres irrespective of their place of residence. Urgent cases include c...

Hospitals and specialised medical care Specialized medical services, including various specialist examinations and treatments, are primarily provided in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and emergency departments. Access to specialised healthcare is ...

Support and benefits The Finnish social protection system includes various forms of financial support and benefits designed to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to take part in working life and society in general. Children and parentho...

Immigrants' social security, welfare and health The MSAH is responsible for matters concerning the welfare and health of immigrants living in Finland. The Ministry deals with the basic security of immigrants, essential social and health services i...

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman The Finns Party Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman is responsible for all other matters covered by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, ...

Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health contributes to coordinating the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland, which is funded from the one-off EU recovery instrument ‘NextGenerationEU’. The Sustainabl...

Cosmetic products Cosmetic product legislation ensures that the products are safe for human health. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the general guidance, monitoring and development of operations pursuant to the Act on ...

Client charges in healthcare and social welfare The Government guides and directs the policy on client charges in healthcare and social welfare through legislation. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that the charges are kept at a reasonable l...

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...

Frequently asked questions concerning child welfare in Finland In Finland, child welfare services are based on the Child Welfare Act (417/2007) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Finnish Treaty Series 59–60/1991). The Child Welfare ...

The Ministry The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH) is one of the 12 ministries in the Government. The Ministry's tasks promote the good health and functional capacity of people promote healthy living and working environments secure suff...

18.2.2026 | According to a report by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the gap between wellbeing services counties’ operations and finances widened in 2025. This trend is also expected to continue in the coming years. The underlying reasons include population ageing, an increase in service needs and uneven regional migration.

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen The National Coalition Party Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen is responsible for matters covered by the Department for Insurance and Social Secu...

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.

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...

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.

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...

23.11.2023 | The minimum staffing level for care personnel in units providing 24-hour care for older people will rise from the current minimum level of 0.65 employees per client to 0.7 employees per client on 1 January 2028. During the transition period, the service structure will be developed and a number of measures will be taken to improve the availability of healthcare and social welfare personnel. 

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...

14.9.2021 | In future, COVID-19 testing will primarily focus on unvaccinated people who have been exposed to the virus and are experiencing symptoms and on vaccinated people who still continue to be at risk of serious illness from COVID-19. This is stated in the national strategy for COVID-19 testing and tracing updated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

29.12.2020 | ( ) 1 (7) Form approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health DECISION ON ORDERING TO TREATMENT Form M3 Please fill in using the language of the form 1. Personal data of the person examined 2. Date of examination 3. Decision 4. Grounds Pers...

2.9.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases has continued to fall in Finland, but the favourable development reported last week has slowed down. The total number of new cases reported between 23 and 29 August was 4,064. This is about 300 cases fewer than in the preceding week when the figure was 4,386. COVID-19 continues to spread especially among unvaccinated young people and adults.

31.10.2025 | Healthcare and social welfare 2040 vision Views and proposals of Ministry of Social Affairs and Health officials regarding needs for changes to the healthcare and social welfare service system Permanent Secretary Veli-Mikko Niemi In “Healthcare an...

10.6.2022 | Finland’s maternity clinic system celebrates its centenary this year. The system began in a renovated log cabin room of the Children’s Castle hospital in Helsinki.

12.8.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases has increased slightly compared to the previous week. The total number of new cases reported between 2 and 8 August was 5,017, whereas a week before the number of new cases was 4,618.

26.8.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases seems to have started to fall in Finland. The total number of new cases reported between 16 and 22 August was 4,334. This is about 800 cases fewer than in the preceding week when the figure was 5,176. However, the number of new cases remains high, and COVID-19 continues to spread especially among unvaccinated young people and adults.

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,...

6.5.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases continued to decline between 26 April and 2 May although the rate of decline slowed down slightly. The regional differences in the development of the epidemic have also evened out to some extent. The number of people getting tested is commendably high. It is expected that the need for hospital care will decrease slowly.

29.8.2024 | Privacy policy – Gender Equality Barometer The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has commissioned Statistics Finland to carry out a survey on gender equality in Finland. The survey will provide information about perceived equality in different...

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...

8.2.2024 | 1 (4) Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Meritullinkatu 8, Helsinki | PO Box 33, FI-00023 Government, Finland +358 295 16001, stm.fi/en, @MSAH_News Privacy policy – Survey on discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy The Ministry of Social Aff...

2.6.2022 | The term of the group responsible for the situational picture and modelling of the COVID-19 epidemic ends in June 2022. The situational assessment report, published every other week, has monitored the development of the epidemic and the measures taken to curb the epidemic, but it will be put on hold for now. The question of what practices may need to be adopted in the autumn will be addressed later.

29.8.2019 | Now people need to wait weeks to see a doctor. Clients are lost in a jungle of services when trying to find the right service. Municipalities’ costs for health and social services cannot be kept under control, which is why municipalities are considering to reduce their basic services.

29.12.2020 | Form approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health REFERRAL FOR OBSERVATION Form M1 For a person recommended for involuntary psychiatric hospital treatment 1. Personal data of the person examined Surname Previous surnames Address Identific...

8.11.2017 | The focus of gambling policies should be moved more towards prevention of gambling problems. When the second phase of the reform of the Lotteries Act gets underway, more emphasis should be placed on the prevention of problems. A national programme is needed to reinforce gambling policies. The programme should be founded on a Government resolution. These are some of the proposals included in a work...

14.1.2022 | In its meeting on Friday 14 January, the Government’s Ministerial Working Group on Coordinating COVID-19 Response discussed the development of the epidemic, closures of food and beverage service businesses and compensation for the costs of restrictive measures. On Friday morning, the ministerial working group received an overview of the epidemiological situation and heard preliminary assessments...

2.11.2020 | 1+MillionGenomes Roadmap 2020-2022 Summary of the roadmap document adopted on 4 February 2020 by the signatories of the Declaration Towards access to at least 1 million sequenced genomes in the EU by 2022 1+MillionGenomes Understanding the role of...

4.2.2021 | The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 continued to grow the week before last, and this trend continued between 25 and 31 January. The positive news is that the number of people tested in the whole of Finland was considerably higher at the end of January than in late December and early January. Contact tracing works well in municipalities although it takes a lot of hard work. It is essential to trace and break new chains of transmission quickly.

8.11.2018 | The aim on the reformed Radiation Act is to protect people's health from the damage caused by radiation and prevent and reduce environmental damage and other detrimental effects caused by radiation. Finland is implementing the EU's Basic Safety Standards Directive by reforming the Radiation Act and certain related acts. The President of Finland is to confirm the Act on 9 November and it is to enter into force on 15 December 2018.

11.2.2020 | The government will strengthen access of young people to psychosocial interventions within publicly funded basic services. The reform aims to establish new methods of early intervention for the prevention and treatment of the most common mental and health disorders among young people, such as depression and anxiety disorders.

14.8.2019 | MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND HEALTH stm.fi/en I @MSAH_News I #EU2019FI Child and family policy in Finland Child welfare and care The aim of Finland’s family policy is to create a safe environment for children to grow up in and to pro- vide paren...

9.10.2020 | A People-centred Perspective on Employment Barriers and Policies FACES OF JOBLESSNESS IN FINLAND 2  This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of interna...

3.9.2018 | National action plan ON ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE 2017–2021 Publications 2017:12MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND HEALTH National action plan on antimicrobial resistance 2017–2021 Antti Hakanen, Jari Jalava ja Liisa Kaartinen Ministry of Social Affair...

8.6.2018 | Iceland‘s rise after the crisis and avenues for the future Gylfi Magnússon, University of Iceland Presentation May 22nd 2018 in Helsinki The Nordic Region – an attractive place for advanced businesses? Crisis of Autumn 2008 • The bulk of the finan...

1.2.2016 | The Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Juha Rehula and the Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Mäntylä will be meeting with the European Commissioner for Food and Health Security Vytenis Andriukaitiks in Helsinki on Monday 1 February. The Commissioner is visiting Finland on the invitation of Minister Rehula and the Minister for Agriculture and the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen.

20.11.2016 | On 20 November, Juha Rehula, Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services, officially presented a state apology to those who were victim of ill-treatment in child welfare foster care. The apology was given on the Universal Children’s Day in Helsinki. This is the first state apology given in Finland.

5.6.2020 | Reform of health, social and rescue services Policy outlines of the Ministerial Working Group on Health and Social Services Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru Press conference on 5 June 2020 About the reform • Reduce inequ...

3.9.2015 | GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA PILOT ASSESSMENT OF UGANDA FEBRUARY 16 – 20, 2015 1 | P a g e Global Health Security Agenda EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Global Health Security Agenda Pilot Assessment of Uganda February 16 – 20, 2015 The Global Health Security ...

3.9.2015 | August 2015 GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA PILOT ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM 2 You may re-use the text of this document (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this ...

27.4.2015 | Well-being through nutrition A guide for municipal decision-makers Contents Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................

3.9.2015 | GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA PILOT ASSESSMENT OF GEORGIA JANUARY 11 TO 16, 2015 1 | P a g e Global Health Security Agenda Preamble The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) is an effort by nations, international organizations, and civil society to...

1.6.2018 | 1 Inkeri Tanhua Gender equality and Nordic welfare societies 2 Contents Gender equality and Nordic welfare societies Introduction.........................................................................................................................

3.9.2015 | GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA PILOT ASSESSMENT OF PORTUGAL April 12 to 17, 2015 Global Health Security Agenda Pilot Assessment of Portugal, Final report 22.6.2015 ____________________________________________________________________________________...

23.9.2015 | 1 SEOUL DECLARATION GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA 2015 HIGH-LEVEL MEETING IN SEOUL We, the ministers gathered on September 9, 2015, at the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) High-Level Meeting in Seoul, commit ourselves to work toward strengthen...