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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. 

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...

2.6.2023 | SUOMEN SÄÄDÖSKOKOELMAN SOPIMUS SARJA Julkaistu Helsingissä 31 päivänä toukokuuta 2016 (Suomen säädöskokoelman n:o 398/2016) Valtioneuvoston asetus 27/2016 vammaisten henkilöiden oikeuksista tehdyn yleissopimuksen ja sen valinnaisen pöytäkir- jan v...

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, ...

25.5.2026 | Some 17,000 children and young people shared their views on issues such as safety and security, trust and wellbeing in a pilot project aimed at strengthening the inclusion of children and young people in society and taking into account their perspectives in preparation work at the state level.

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...

International and EU affairs The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its administrative branch engage in proactive international and EU cooperation that promotes health and social policy. As part of the Government, the Ministry is responsibl...

Department for Communities and Functional Capacity The Department for Communities and Functional Capacity is responsible for matters related to health and social services for children, young people and families, services for people with disabiliti...

Management and organisation Two ministers and one permanent secretary run the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. A State Secretary may assist the ministers in their tasks. There are six departments in the ministry, in charge of the preparation...

Preparation of EU matters Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) The EPSCO Council, which brings together ministers from all EU Member States, decides on EU cooperation in employment, social policy, health, consumer...

International Affairs Unit The International Affairs Unit develops, plans and coordinates international affairs in the Ministry's administrative sector. The International Affairs Unit coordinates the administrative sector’s activities in intergove...

Roma policy in Finland The overall objective of Finland’s National Roma Policy is to promote the inclusion, participation and equality of the Roma in different spheres of life. The policy programme is a comprehensive action plan, prepared in coope...

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...

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...

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...

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...

6.3.2026 | The 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will take place in New York from 9 to 19 March 2026. Finland will be represented at the session by a broad-based delegation led by Minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, who is responsible for gender equality issues.

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.

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.

8.10.2025 | Gender Equality Days is the main annual event in the field of gender equality in Finland, and this year it will be organised as part of the programme for Finland’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The event will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the UN World Conference on Women in 1995.

6.6.2025 | ​​​​​​​The Baltic Pride Conference, taking place in Vilnius on 6 June, will discuss the inclusion and rights of LGBTI people. The event will be opened by State Secretary Laura Rissanen as part of Finland’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

7.10.2025 | The Nordic ministers responsible for gender equality and LGBTI will meet in Hämeenlinna on 7 October. The meeting will be chaired by Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen.

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.

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...

26.9.2024 | Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen will attend a High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance in New York on 26 September 2024. Minister Grahn-Laasonen will deliver Finland’s address at the meeting, highlighting as a new theme the importance of the gender perspective in comprehensive antimicrobial resistance prevention.

23.4.2024 | The health ministers of the EU Member States will discuss the availability of healthcare personnel and medicines at their informal meeting in Brussels on 23–24 April. 

23.9.2024 | As outlined in the Programme of Petteri Orpo’s Government, the Government will implement a central government productivity programme to support the Government’s objective for sustainable public finances.

3.5.2024 | The strategy for digitalisation and information management in healthcare and social welfare sparked discussion at a meeting of the ministerial working group on a sustainable welfare society. The ministers of the working group recognise that digitalisation plays an important role in developing new ways of providing services and using existing information to support people’s wellbeing in Finland.

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...

23.9.2024 | The Finnish Government proposes about EUR 15.2 billion in appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its administrative branch for 2025. This is about EUR 1.1 billion less than in 2024.

12.12.2023 | Estonia and the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold a conference on the development of health systems on 12-13 December 2023, where Finland will be represented by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso. In her speech, the Minister will address the economy of wellbeing, particularly the mutually supportive nature of both wellbeing policy measures and structures and the economy.

31.1.2023 | A working group appointed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health proposes measures to end the use of tobacco and nicotine products in Finland by 2030. The group submitted its report to State Secretary Eila Mäkipää on Tuesday, 31 January 2023.

25.4.2022 | The European Commission adopted an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child in spring 2021, recommending that Member States introduce a European Child Guarantee. The Child Guarantee seeks to support particularly vulnerable children and their families, and to help channel investment in child wellbeing. Finland is realising the Child Guarantee as part of work related to the National Child Strategy, which has aligned with policies of the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child from the very outset.

1.12.2023 | This year, the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP28, will host the first-ever Health Day and climate-health ministerial. The purpose of the thematic day is to highlight how climate change affects people’s health and wellbeing as well as the resilience of health systems and societies and to point out that the climate crisis is also a health crisis.

2.6.2023 | FINLANDS FÖRFATTNINGSSAMLINGS FÖRDRAGSSERIE Utgiven i Helsingfors den 31 maj 2016 (Finlands författningssamlings nr 398/2016) Statsrådets förordning 27/2016 om sättande i kraft av konventionen om rättigheter för personer med funktionsnedsätt- ning...

23.11.2023 | The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU will hold an informal ministerial meeting on equality in Pamplona on 23–24 November 2023. Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen will represent Finland at the meeting. The meeting will focus on violence against women.

4.9.2020 | In recent weeks, there has been discussion about whether a full communicable disease allowance should be paid to people who may have been exposed to coronavirus because of their own actions. This type of situation may occur, for example, when people travel to countries where the coronavirus situation is worse than in Finland or when people attend public events.  

11.5.2020 | The COVID-19 epidemic has shown us in practice how important the rights of children are under emergency conditions. Over the past few months, the rights of children have been considerably restricted around the world. Restrictions have been placed on education, social relations and physical activities. At the same time, the rights of children to security, basic care, play and leisure time have also been reduced in practice.

5.6.2020 | The Government has finalised the policy outlines for the health and social services reform, on the basis of which preparations for the reform will continue. The aim is to circulate the draft bills on the restructuring of health and social services for comments in June.

8.12.2021 | Webinar: Nordic Welfare Forum 2021 The Nordic model and social sustainability Date and time: 8-9 December, start at 1 pm on the 8th of December and end at 1 pm on 9th of December (EET time zone) Place: Online webinar Moderator: Jens Berg Program 8...

6.9.2024 | 15 April 2024 Ministry of Social Affairs and Health policy on international and EU cooperation for 2024–2027 The policies of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on international and EU coopera- tion for 2024–2027 guide the Ministry and its a...

5.3.2020 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for ensuring that Finland is prepared for both unexpected and gradually emerging situations that affect, or may affect, healthcare and social welfare services one way or another.

3.12.2021 | EU ministers responsible for employment and social affairs will discuss the directive on adequate minimum wages as a way of combating in-work poverty. Other items on their agenda include pay transparency and gender equality in the labour market.

8.3.2023 | Genome strategy Content Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 3 STRATEGIC GOAL 1: Finland makes use of its unique prerequisites in re...

11.10.2022 | Report of the working group on the use of iodine in the event of a radiation hazard situation STM 2022 Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................

10.12.2020 | On Thursday 10 December, the Government adopted a resolution on Finland’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy, the key content of which was outlined in negotiations last week.

22.11.2019 | Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s Government aims to improve gender equality in society and make Finland a leading country in gender equality. Preparing a broadly based action plan for gender equality and creating a monitoring system covering all state administrative sectors are among the means to achieve these objectives, according to the Government Action Plan.

30.9.2016 | Health technology could be the engine of new growth in Finland. The Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation Tekes and IBM have concluded a collaboration agreement on developing a digital health and wellbeing ecosystem in Finland.

21.12.2020 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health encourages civil society to participate in the preparation of the equality policy report by expressing views on what an equal Finland would look like.

8.12.2021 | Facilitating the employment of persons with disabilities will be the focus of a virtual Nordic conference on Thursday 9 December. The conference will highlight new kinds of intermediate labour markets and successful experiences of employing people with disabilities through social enterprises. The agenda also includes good practices for supporting work ability for people with disabilities at workplaces.

7.5.2020 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment have appointed a high-profile group for strengthening wellbeing and equality in the aftermath of the coronavirus epidemic.

15.6.2020 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior request comments on the draft government proposal concerning the health and social services reform and the organisation of rescue services from the municipalities and joint municipal authorities of mainland Finland and other parties mentioned in the request for comments. The deadline for submitting comments is 25 September 2020.

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...

19.12.2018 | Report from the side-event YOUNG NORDIC VOICES: how do I shape my future? Side-event during the session of the Nordic Council 30 October 2017, Helsinki Part of the Finnish priority project “Norden 2020” OCT OBE R 30#N O R D E N 20 20 INTRODUCTION ...

16.12.2016 | Finland has a good health and social services system but it can and should be enhanced and developed. Municipalities are too small and scattered to organise equal health and social services cost-effectively. Compiling the organisational responsibility to counties in the health and social services reform is a good solution. The integration of health and social services enhances cost-management, customer-orientedness and quality.

21.12.2016 | On 21 December, the Government published a draft of the legislation detailing how customers will be able to select from among the health and social services that are within the scope of freedom of choice. The legislation aims to ensure that freedom of choice will increase the customer's possibilities of exerting influence, speed up access to services as well as improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of services.

30.11.2016 | The ministerial working group on migration discussed an action plan on the prevention and control of illegal residence in the country. The plan has been prepared as a collaborative effort of various ministries and it focuses on the illegal residence in the country of people who have received a negative asylum decision.

11.1.2016 | GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA ASSESSMENT OF UKRAINE November 2-6, 2015 1 | P a g e Global Health Security Agenda GHSA External Country Assessment of Ukraine November 2-6, 2015 Executive Summary The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) is an effort...

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 ...