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The 11th annual Gender Equality Days (Tasa-arvopäivät) were organised on 8-9 October 2025 at the Clarion Hotel Aviapolis in Vantaa. 

22.5.2026 | PÄIHDEHUOLLON JA LASTENSUOJELUN RAJAPINNALLA - saavatko päihteitä käyttävät nuoret tarvitsemaansa tukea? NUPPU-hanke STM:n VTR-seminaari 22.5.2026, Helsinki & webinaari Katja Kuusisto, sosiaalityön professori, Tampereen yliopisto TreAdd tutkimusry...

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Projects and working groups On this page you can browse and search for information on the projects and programmes of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and on the work of the working groups. For information on all projects of the Ministry o...

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Unit for Pensions and Private Insurance (EVY) - Group personnel Hidden

Department for Steering of Healthcare and Social Welfare (OHO) - Group personnel Hidden

Unit for Planning and International Social Security (SUKA) - Group personnel Hidden

The Government appointed a parliamentary monitoring group to support the legislative drafting project launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health to lay down the principles for the national choice of effective services and methods. [This is a machine translation, we do not guarantee the quality and accuracy of the translations produced.]

Kansallinen ikäohjelma vuoteen 2030 Tavoitteena ikäkyvykäs Suomi Periaatepäätös Valtioneuvosto, Helsinki 2022 Valtioneuvosto This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohi...

27.2.2024 | Tutkimussuunnitelma / Kataja Ulkomaalaistaustaiset päihdepalvelujen asiakkaina. Kohti yhdenvertaisempaa saavutettavuutta ja vaikuttavuutta, (USVa) 1. Tutkimuksen tarkoitus ja tavoitteet 1.1. Tutkimushankkeen merkitys suhteessa nykytietämykseen sek...

Gender mainstreaming Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for promoting gender equality, and it means that the gender perspective is taken into account in all decision-making. The Gender Equality Unit of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health coo...

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...

Department for Work and Gender Equality The Department for Work and Gender Equality (TTO) guides and directs the supervision and administration of occupational safety and health, drafts legislation and policies on occupational safety and health, a...

Barents Euro-Arctic Council The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) works under the Trio Presidency of Finland, Sweden and Norway in 2024. Finland held the Presidency of the Council from 2021 to 2023. Finland also chaired the Joint Working Group on...

Gambling Policy Programme improves prevention and reduction of harm The Gambling Policy Programme, prepared under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, sets guidelines for the prevention and reduction of harm caused by gambling up to 2030. It...

EU collaboration project to promote access to genomic data The success of the European ‘1+ Million Genomes’ Initiative relies on wide-ranging collaboration. Among the objectives of the EU project is to ensure secure, cross-border access to genomic...

European cooperation on market surveillance Application of product legislation The Expert Group on Machinery (MD EG), which deals with issues related to the application of the Machinery Directive, operates under the Machinery Committee of the Euro...

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.

Reform encourages both parents to take family leave The Family leave reform entered into force on 1 August 2022. The number of parental leave days will increase and there will be more flexibility for parents to take leave. The reform aims to incre...

Amending the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing a government proposal for amending the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data (555/2019). The Act will be amended in...

Actions to reduce the use of tobacco and nicotine products The key actions to reduce the use of tobacco and related products are: as high product prices as possible (price and tax policies) smoke-free environments banning tobacco product marketing...

Assessment of risks associated with gambling Assessing the risks and harm caused by gambling is statutory work conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The Ministry started to assess the risks and harm related to the running of gamb...

Vaccinations Decision-making by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health concerning the vaccination programme is made with the support of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Municipalities are responsible for the practical arrange...

fi sv en National neurocenter Neurocenter Finland accelerates collaboration in neuroscience Neurocenter Finland maintains comprehensive and up-to-date information on research projects, infrastructures, methods, materials and innovations in the fie...

Further information fi sv en Drug Development Centre to promote competitive development of drugs Finland has competitive basic medical research of high quality that has the potential of developing new medicinal products. However, so far commercial...

fi sv en National Genome Centre Data on people's genetic makeup helps make better personalised choices, target the screening of diseases, specify diagnostics, and choose the best and most effective treatment. In Finland, the development of persona...

Northern Dimension The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing (NDPHS) provides a platform for expert-level cooperation in the field of health and wellbeing. NDPHS aims to lead the way to sustainable and inclusive soci...

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s assessment of the combined impacts of government proposals, taking into account fundamental and human rights. The assessment memorandums are prepared annually as part of official duties and published in the Government Project Register Hankeikkuna.

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...

27.2.2024 | 1 Perheen tukena – perhetyö lapsi- ja perhesosiaalityössä (PETU) PETU on Jyväskylän yliopiston (JYU), Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun (Jamk), Lastensuojelun kehittämisyhteisö Pesäpuun ja Keski-Suomen sosiaalialan osaamiskeskuksen (KOSKE) tutkimus- ...

fi sv en People and contact details Management and coordination of the projects, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Tuula Helander, Deputy Director General, tel. +358 2951 63480 Operational planning of the national cancer centre Tuula Helander ...

Tobacco and nicotine policy The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health directs and develops Finland’s tobacco and nicotine policy, the aim of which is ending the use of tobacco and other nicotine products. The goal has been confirmed in the...

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

27.2.2024 | Päihdehuollon ja lastensuojelun rajapinnalla - saavatko päihteitä käyttävät nuoret tarvitsemaansa tukea? Konsortio-hanke PI: Katja Kuusisto Sosiaalityön tenure track -professori, dosentti Tampereen yliopisto (TAU) Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta (...

Arctic cooperation

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...

Lääkkeen määräämisestä annetusta sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön asetuksesta (1088/2010) ehdotetaan muutettavaksi säännökset, jotka rajaavat rajatun lääkkeenmääräämisoikeuden toteuttamista etä- ja puhelinvastaanotoilla (10 §). Liitteestä 2 esitetään poistettavaksi optikon määrättävissä olevia lääkkeitä koskeva ikärajaus.

Department for Steering of Healthcare and Social Welfare The Department for Steering of Healthcare and Social Welfare is responsible for the general steering, planning and development of healthcare and social welfare in Finland. The Department for...

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...

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...

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...

General social security benefit The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is preparing a general social security benefit. The benefit would include a basic allowance for living, an allowance for housing costs and a discretionary allowance as last-...

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.

Contact information Communications Unit / VIE Communications Unit / VIE Iina Bister, Communications Specialist Communications Unit / VIE Address Meritullinkatu 8, 00170 Helsinki Phone number +358295163015 Email [email protected] Mariina Cervera Li...

health security

“A career path can start in unexpected places – mine began as a Habbo Hotel moderator” Taina Pahkamaa‑Huusko has worked at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health since 2010 in a wide range of administrative roles. In her current position as Exe...

HPV vaccinations By a decision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the HPV vaccine has been included in the national vaccination programme (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Decree 410/2013). The HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer ...

Provisions will be laid down on the principles according to which the inclusion of services, methods and and forms of work in the range of services and their removal will be implemented in public healthcare and social welfare. The possibility of enacting provisions on a national actor who can make a binding decision on the inclusion of the method in the range of public services will be investigated.

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...

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...

“What matters most is the people and how well they work together” Jari Keinänen has worked at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health for 25 years and leads the Wellbeing and Health Protection Unit. What motivates him are the variety of the work...

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...

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...

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 ...

Publications Publications of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is a publication series that supports the Ministry's management, communications on the Ministry's content matters as well as the strategic management of the Ministry's administ...

Secondary use of health and social data A separate law has be laid down on the secondary use of health and social data (Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data). The purpose of the Act is to facilitate the effective and safe processing ...

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...

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

Frequently asked questions about the Act on Secondary Use of Health and Social Data Usein kysyttyä: The law mentions the primary and secondary use of customer data. What is the difference between these two concepts? The primary use of customer dat...

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...

13.4.2023 | 1 (12) Muistioluonnos 13.4.2023 VN/10256/2023 VN/10256/2023-STM-4 Postiosoite Käyntiosoite Puhelin Faksi s-posti, internet Postadress Besöksadress Telefon Fax e-post, internet Postal Address Office Telephone Fax e-mail, internet Sosiaali- ja terve...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation of developed market-based economies with 37 member countries. Finland’s work with the OECD primarily involves the responsible officials fro...

key proj

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.

Senior Civil Servants As the most senior public official at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Permanent Secretary directs and is responsible for the Ministry’s activities. The Under-Secretary of State assists the Permanent Secretary i...

Social security for athletes, grant recipients and students Social security and pensions is provided under special arrangements in the case of certain professional groups: Athletes Pension and accident insurenace is compulsory until the age of 65 ...

Drug policy Finland makes use of social policy, national legislation and international agreements to prevent the demand and supply of drugs reduce the harm caused by drugs ensure that people with drug problems receive treatment as early as possibl...

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...

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...

EHDS Regulation The EHDS Regulation is an EU regulation that improves citizens’ control over their personal health data and provides healthcare professionals with access to patient data, regardless of where patients live or receive treatment. The ...

Press releases about Coronavirus Current Issues More healthcare professionals to be allowed to administer vaccines Type: Press release Publication date: 25.4.2024 13.56 New Pandemic Preparedness Plan takes account of experiences during COVID-19 er...

European Union: social, health and gender equality issues The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is in charge of its own sectoral matters in the EU in terms of preparation, follow-up, defining Finland’s standpoint, drafting EU legislation and i...

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...

Municipalities are responsible for promoting health and wellbeing.

Barentsin euroarktinen neuvosto Barentsin euroarktisen neuvoston (Barents Euro–Arctic Council, BEAC) puheenjohtajina toimivat vuonna 2024 kolmikantaisesti Suomi, Ruotsi ja Norja. Vuosien 2021-2023 puheenjohtajana oli Suomi. Suomi toimi myös neuvos...

Read more about working at the ministry The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health employs approximately 440 people. Their jobs vary from Assistant to Permanent Secretary and from Specialist to Ministerial Adviser. Tasks are challenging and versati...

Radical Health Festival kokoaa kansainväliset terveysalan huiput Helsinkiin keskustelemaan ennakoivasta ja yksilöllisestä terveydenhuollosta. STM vastaa tapahtuman Policy for Change -ohjelmasta, jossa pureudutaan muun muassa datan ja tekoälyn hyödyntämiseen sekä mahdollistavaan sääntelyyn Euroopan kilpailukyvyn vahvistamiseksi.

Data Protection Contact information Data Protection Officer Data Protection Officer Lassi Kauttonen The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Department for Communities and Functional Capacity tietosuojavastaava.stm(at)gov.fi Controller The Minis...

Promoting inclusion strengthens social cohesion Inclusion means belonging to and being connected with communities and society. It is reflected, for example, in trust, equality and people’s opportunity to have a say in their own community and socie...

Development of working life Thriving staff and work communities, together with safe work environments, form the basis for a sustainable working life and productivity. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is developing working life in accordan...

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s principles of a safer space The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health adheres to the principles of a safer space. The safer space principles refer to common practices and approaches that aim to make a space ...

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...

fi sv en Improving health through the use of genomic data In the next few years, the use of genomic data in healthcare will rapidly increase. In the future, decisions regarding the prevention and treatment of diseases will be increasingly based on...

Osana sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon ammattihenkilölainsäädännön uudistusta puretaan optikon ammatin harjoittamista koskevia rajoituksia kumoamalla terveydenhuollon ammattihenkilöistä annetun asetuksen (564/1994) 16 §.

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is Finland’s most important international partner in the development and evaluation of health policy in Finland and globally. Finland is an active participant in global health policy an...

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...

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

Survivors’ pension When a death occurs in a family, the income of the widow and the children is secured with a survivors’ pension, which can be a spouse’s pension or an orphan’s pension. The purpose of the survivors’ pension under the earnings-rel...

“I’m always looking for ways to improve how we work together by making better use of digitalisation and data” Teija Inkilä’s work combines digital services, evidence-based decision-making, artificial intelligence and collaboration between authorit...

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...

WORK2030 - Development programme for work and wellbeing at work The implementation of the WORK2030 programme has been based on the Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government. The aims of the programme have been to reform operating practi...

Legislation concerning income security The Finnish Constitution guarantees the right of all people living in Finland to Adequate social and health services Basic income security Essential subsistence and care. There is a range of legislation gover...