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Steering of wellbeing services counties The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the general guidance, direction, planning and development of healthcare and social welfare in Finland. The Ministry of the Interior, in turn, is r...

Wellbeing services counties on the map Shortly There are 21 wellbeing services counties in Finland, responsible for organizing social and health care services as well as rescue services in their respective areas. The City of Helsinki and the Åland...

Wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services Wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising healthcare, social welfare and rescue services in Finland. There are 21 wellbeing serv...

The large-scale interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform aims to assess the achievement of the reform objectives in 2025 in relation to the objectives laid down in legislation. The evaluation will be carried out on the basis of the implementation in 2023–2025 and by examining the preconditions for achieving the long-term objectives of the reform.

22.6.2026 | The Digital Pharmacist project is piloting remote and in-person pharmacist appointments in the wellbeing services counties of Pirkanmaa and South Ostrobothnia. The goal is to strengthen clinical pharmacy competence in healthcare and social welfare services and to create operating models that counties across Finland can use.

20.5.2026 | A new operating model and set of indicators have been prepared to promote innovation cooperation between wellbeing services counties and businesses. The aim is to provide a consistent way for the counties, and also nationally, to engage in effective cooperation with businesses.

16.6.2026 | Most of the first-phase amendments to child welfare legislation will enter into force on 1 October 2026.  However, the provisions on a closed institutional service providing rehabilitation will enter into force on 1 January 2027. The amendments aim to strengthen children’s right to balanced development and protection and to improve the possibilities of child welfare services to ensure a safe everyday life for children.

Every wellbeing services county belongs to one collaborative area. There are a total of five collaborative areas, each with one university hospital.

21.5.2026 | The Act on Healthcare Professionals has been amended to make it possible to receive international assistance for healthcare in different kinds of crises. The amendments will facilitate and speed up the operations of humanitarian assistance providers in Finland when assistance is needed fast. The amendments will enter into force on 25 May 2026.

RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing The aim of the RDI Growth Programme for Health and Wellbeing is to support the wellbeing services counties in renewing themselves in order for them to better promote people’s health and wellbeing and i...

Screening Screening means examination of the population or a certain part of the population, or sampling in order to discover a certain disease or its precursor or to identify a pathogen. The purpose of screening is to look for early signs of a di...

Healthcare and social welfare system and responsibilities Finland’s healthcare and social welfare system is founded on public healthcare and social welfare services funded from tax revenue. Alongside the public sector, private companies provide he...

Healthcare and social welfare system and responsibilities Finland’s healthcare and social welfare system is founded on public healthcare and social welfare services funded from tax revenue. Alongside the public sector, private companies provide he...

Social lending Shortly The wellbeing services counties grant social loans. In Helsinki, the Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division is responsible for social lending. If you would like to apply for a social loan, please contact t...

10.12.2025 | An independent group of experts has conducted a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform, which was published on 10 December. Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso, Minister of Local and Regional Government Anna-Kaisa Ikonen and Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen consider the findings valuable.

Social assistance Shortly Social assistance is a last-resort form of social security that secures the essential livelihood for an individual or a family when they cannot support themselves with other income or assets. It is a means-tested benefit,...

Private providers of health and social services, in other words companies, organisations and foundations, already account for about 22 per cent of the whole health and social services sector. They operate in both publicly and privately funded markets.

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 ...

Private providers of health and social services Private providers of health and social services, in other words companies, organisations and foundations, already account for about 22 per cent of the whole health and social services sector. They op...

Social security and services for people applying for and receiving international protection in Finland People applying for international protection leave their home countries for various reasons, for example, to escape war, persecution or insecuri...

Social services The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for Finland’s social policy and prepares legislation on social welfare. Social welfare covers promoting social security and wellbeing and taking care of social welfare duties...

Services and benefits for old people Shortly Social security for older people consists of healthcare and social welfare services and income security. The responsibility for organising these services lies with wellbeing services counties, which ass...

Services and support for people with disabilities Persons with disabilities have the right to equality, inclusion, self-determination, independent living, non-discrimination and the necessary individual services and support. The principle is that ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health provides overall guidance and prepares legislation on student health care in secondary and higher education.

Primary healthcare Health and social services centres are the nearest and most familiar care facilities to residents, providing many of the healthcare services organised by the wellbeing services counties. Health and social services centres provid...

Alcohol policy The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the guidance and development of alcohol policy. Alcohol policy refers to the public authorities’ measures to prevent negative health, social and societal effects of alcoho...

Organisations and associations as part of the healthcare and social welfare system. There are more than 11,000 healthcare and social welfare organisations in Finland (2020). There are also a large number of organisations in the fields of sports, culture and rescue services.

Appealing income security decisions The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health does not process requests for a review, objections or complaints. Instead, it drafts legislation on appeal boards and this way ensures the legal protection of people whe...

Responsibilities in preventing domestic and family in the Ministry’s branch of government The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) coordinates the nationwide work to prevent domestic and family violence. It also coordinates the network o...

Work ability programme The aim of the work ability programme was to eliminate obstacles to the employment of people with partial work ability and develop services to support the work ability of people with partial work ability The work ability pro...

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...

Municipalities are responsible for promoting health and wellbeing.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health directs, monitors and coordinates preparedness for incidents and emergencies in healthcare and social welfare.

Mental health services The aim of mental health work is to strengthen people's good mental health and to reduce factors that undermine it. This work includes activities to promote mental health and prevent mental health disorders, as well as menta...

Healthcare and social welfare for undocumented persons When it comes to the organisation of healthcare and social welfare, it should be noted that there are people residing both legally and illegally in Finland who are usually referred to as undoc...

School health care is part of school welfare services, which also include the services of school social workers and psychologists.

The centres of excellence on social welfare bring together wellbeing services counties, research institutes, educational establishments, organisations and other bodies in their area to promote cooperation.

Amended legislation on health checks for children and young adults Categories: Publication date: 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 regulate...

Health services The aim of healthcare in Finland is to maintain and improve people's health, wellbeing, work ability and functional capacity and social security, as well as to reduce inequalities in health. The healthcare system is based on preven...

Finnish social security system The Finnish social security system includes benefits and support that protect people’s livelihoods, as well as the provision of health and social services and employment services. Social security provides income secu...

Guidance of information management in healthcare and social welfare The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the general planning, guidance and monitoring of information management within its administrative branch and for the f...

Substance abuse and addiction prevention Shortly The goal of substance abuse and addiction prevention is to reduce harm and promote health, wellbeing and safety. The wellbeing services counties organise substance abuse prevention and provide healt...

Services for older people Shortly Wellbeing services counties organise health and social services for older people. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Association of Finnish Cities and Municipalities have published a quality recomme...

Health and social services The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health sets the guidelines for developing health and social services, drafts the relevant legislation and guides the implementation of reforms. Legislation » Legislation on social and h...

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...

Ministerial Communications Team: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health The Ministerial Communications Team at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for planning, implementing and developing communications for the Ministry and it...

Legislation on health and social services In Finland, the state's responsibility to promote welfare, health and security is rooted in the Constitution. This enshrines the right of everyone to income and to care, if they are unable to manage adequa...

Legislation concerning children, young people and families Family leaves Family leaves are regulated in the Employment Contracts Act. The Act contains provisions on the rights of parents to take leave for family reasons. Employment Contracts Act 5...

Patient ombudspersons and social services ombudspersons Patient ombudspersons and social services ombudspersons advise and assist patients or social welfare clients in situations where they are dissatisfied with the healthcare or social welfare se...

10.12.2025 | The wellbeing services county reform is progressing towards the set objectives throughout Finland, but there are still many issues left to address. This is according to a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform made by an independent expert group.

The principle of organising prenatal screening tests to find out whether the pregnancy is developing normally is that all pregnant women are offered voluntary, free-of-charge, uniform and high-quality screening tests and, when necessary, further tests on an equal basis.

12.12.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health will launch a pilot project in early 2026 to test a nationwide model and indicators for knowledge-based management designed to support research, development, education, innovation and competence development in the wellbeing services counties.

Amended legislation on health checks for children and young adults Type: Press release Categories: Publication date: 22.12.2025 Request for comments: Legislative amendment would extend right of small alcohol producers to sell their products direct...

Maternity and child health clinics Maternity and child health services are offered for all pregnant parents, families that are expecting a baby and children before school age and their parents. The functions of the maternity and child health clini...

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Minister of Social Security Karoliina Partanen The National Coalition Party Minister of Social Security Karoliina Partanen is responsible for matters covered by the Department for Insurance and Social Security...

Good Work Programme – Creating more appeal and staying power in the healthcare and social welfare sector Mounting service needs driven by an ageing Finnish population, higher rates of chronic diseases, evolving expectations and new technologies – ...

fi sv en Finnish Cancer Center FICAN The Finnish Cancer Center (FICAN) was established in 2019 to promote effective and equitable cancer care in Finland. FICAN’s mission is to implement the tasks defined in the Government Decree on the Division of...

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...

Child welfare Shortly The objective of child welfare is to guarantee children’s right to a safe growth environment, development and special protection. The aim is to provide support at the earliest possible stage at schools and maternity and child...

Legislation on termination on pregnancy

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health guides, directs and develops legislation on occupational healthcare.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Decree on the prescription of medicines (1088/2010), special attention must be given to the safety of pharmaceuticals.

COVID-19 disease in Finland Shortly Since July 2023, COVID-19 has been classified as a monitored communicable disease instead of a generally hazardous communicable disease. Vaccinations continue to be the most important way to protect against seri...

Welfare and health promotion The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health supports the welfare of people in Finland via social and health services and by ensuring income security. Legislation » Many areas of health legislation enhance welfare...

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, ...

There are six Regional State Administrative Agencies in mainland Finland. They guide and supervise public and private healthcare and social welfare.

Survivors’ pension The survivors’ pension secures the income of the surviving spouse and children when a family member dies. The survivors’ pensions consist of the surviving spouse’s pension and the orphan’s pension. The purpose of the survivors’ ...

9.6.2026 | A national operating model for clinical trials (FinTrials) will be established in Finland to improve the coordination of clinical trials of medicines and clinical investigations of medical devices. The aim is to increase the number of such studies in Finland, accelerate their launch and improve patients’ opportunities to access new treatments.

The national health and wellbeing programme seeks to reduce the wellbeing deficit and disease burden caused by the principal chronic diseases and conditions and their risk factors, to boost working and functional capacity, and to minimise disparities between population groups due to issues of health and wellbeing.

The status and rights of clients and patients The status and rights of patients and social welfare clients are protected by: the Act on the Status and Rights of Patients 785/1992 (Finlex) the Act on the Status and Rights of Social Welfare Clients ...

Strategic and Financial Management Unit The Strategic and Financial Management Unit assists and supports the Permanent Secretary and is in charge of developing the Ministry’s strategic leadership. The Unit is responsible for advancing and developi...

Preventing domestic and intimate partner violence The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for planning and guiding the prevention of domestic and family violence. The aim is to prevent violence and develop the nationwide service s...

International examples to help Finland create governance model for wellbeing economy 4.12.2025 8.46 The economy of wellbeing offers tools for policy makers to secure the preconditions for a good life both for the current population and future gene...

Prevention of human trafficking The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health aims to prevent social problems caused by trafficking in human beings and to identify and help victims. The Ministry’s responsibilities include ensuring that victims of traf...

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 ...

Government branch The administrative branch of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health includes several independent institutions and agencies, which implement the ministry’s objectives in society and participate in Government Programme projects....

National Cancer Strategy 2026–2035 Cancer is a common disease in Finland. The number of cancer deaths in the country has fallen considerably over the past decades, and as many as two out of three people with cancer recover from the disease. Howeve...

Family benefits The purpose of the benefit system for children and families is to safeguard the subsistence of the child and those responsible for his or her care, and to support the care of the child. The benefits are applied for at the Social In...

Legislation on services and benefits for older people This page lists the key pieces of legislation on services and benefits for older people. Below you will find them by topic and also links to more detailed guidance. Health and social services I...

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health coordinates, develops and monitors gender mainstreaming as part of the Government’s gender equality policy. Monitoring focuses particularly on legislative drafting, economic and operational planning, budgeting, and competence development. In addition, the operational gender equality planning of public authorities is monitored.

Violence against children and its prevention The authorities work to prevent violence against children in many ways and in broad cooperation with various parties. The key national plans coordinated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health incl...

Finances and operations This page provides information about the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s operational and financial planning, budget, performance guidance process, operating plans and financial statements. The Ministry is responsibl...

Buresbirgenguovllut (buresveadjinguovllut) gárttas Oaččut lassidieđu buresbirgenguovlluin go coahkkalat guovllu nama dehe gártta viidodaga. Ane neahttaloganin juoidá eará go Explorera, daningo dálá áigge gárta ii doaimma gv. neahttaloganiin. Gárti...

9.4.2025 | Prime Minister Orpo’s Government has set an objective of adjusting public sector activities to ensure that the national economy is on a sustainable footing. At the moment, it looks like it will be difficult to achieve this objective over the next few years though. The decision-makers in the wellbeing services counties are in a key role here. Reaching fiscal balance in general government finances is essential.

Buresbirgenguovllut (buresveadjinguovllut) gárttas Oaččut lassidieđu buresbirgenguovlluin go coahkkalat guovllu nama dehe gártta viidodaga. Ane neahttaloganin juoidá eará go Explorera, daningo dálá áigge gárta ii doaimma gv. neahttaloganiin. Gárti...

12.6.2026 | Together with the social partners, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of the Interior have drawn up recommendations for workplaces in case of drone threats. Their premise is that official instructions are followed. The recommendations are based on the current threat assessment and they will be updated as necessary. They also include a recommendation on the payment of wages.

12.2.2026 | The health status of people in Finland is in many respects better than the EU average, and the service system is fairly comprehensive. However, a recent country report by the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies indicates that access to care is not realised equally in Finland. In 2024, 12.4% of those who required medical care reported that they had not received the services they needed. The share is the second highest in the EU.

9.1.2026 | Radical Health Festival, Europe’s leading health sector event, will take place in Helsinki from 19 to 21 January 2026, offering an international setting for leading health sector experts to discuss how to leverage artificial intelligence and data in healthcare. The event will gather professionals, decision-makers and businesses in the field to accelerate renewal in health and social services.

11.9.2025 | The Government is proposing to Parliament a legislative amendment that would oblige the wellbeing services counties to prepare for the use and threat of military force. The amendment concerns the Act on Organising Healthcare and Social Welfare Services, and it aims to ensure close cooperation between the wellbeing services counties and the Finnish Defence Forces in both normal and emergency conditions.

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...

20.11.2025 | The Government proposes amendments to the Act on Healthcare Professionals that will make it possible to receive international assistance for healthcare in different kinds of crisis situations. The aim is to facilitate and speed up the operations of humanitarian assistance providers in Finland when assistance is needed fast.

3.9.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing a national model and indicators for knowledge-based management to support research, development, education, innovation and competence development in the wellbeing services counties. An open online event will be held this autumn to provide all stakeholders with an opportunity to join in the preparation of the knowledge-based management model.

9.10.2025 | The Government proposes amendments to child welfare legislation The aim is to strengthen children’s right to special protection, clarify the use of educational practices and restrictions and improve the opportunities for child welfare services to ensure a safe everyday life for children. 

17.6.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health requests comments on a draft government proposal to amend the Act on Organising Healthcare and Social Welfare Services. The aim is to clarify the obligation of wellbeing services counties to prepare for the use or threat of military force. The consultation period is open from 17 June to 23 July 2025.

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.

22.12.2025 | 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.

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...

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...

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...

16.6.2025 |  Finland will reform and strengthen its health technology assessment (HTA) activities. As part of the reform, the expertise and resources concerning HTA activities will be pooled into a single competence cluster.