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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.

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.

18.2.2026 | 1 Joint conference statement Roma and Sinti Women in the Public Sphere: Turning Voices into Change 3 December 2025 I. Core values of equality and human rights We, the participants of the multi-country conference “Roma and Sinti Women in the Public...

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...

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

13.12.2018 | The Government is proposing a new Act on Client Charges in Health and Social Services that would apply to health and social services organised by counties. In future, only service charges provided by the Act on Client Charges in Health and Social Services could be collected from clients.

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.

2.2.2023 | Finland has implemented tripartite Equal Pay Programmes for four government terms, but the need for them has not gone away. The pay gap between women and men has narrowed slowly. This information comes from an overall assessment of the Equal Pay Programme that was published today.

22.5.2025 | Ukraine held a Ministerial Social Policy Summit in Lviv on 22 May. The theme of the Summit was ‘Building Resilient Societies: Innovative Solutions for Demographic Change’. The Summit also issued a joint communiqué, in which the participating countries expressed their support for Ukraine and Moldova on their path towards joining the European Union.

18.10.2024 | Finland and Ukraine signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation in the healthcare sector on Friday 18 October 2024 in Helsinki.

22.5.2025 | JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ May 22, 2025 Lviv, Ukraine On behalf of the participants of the Second Ministerial Social Policy Summit, we reaffirm our shared commitment to supporting Ukraine and Moldova on their path towards joining the European Union. We firm...

11.12.2023 | The International Gender Equality Prize was awarded to the Afghan Women Skills Development Center, which works to promote and protect the rights of women in Afghanistan. The organisation does important humanitarian work to promote the safety of Afghan women.

29.5.2020 | This year the World Health Organization (WHO) has presented the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health with the World No Tobacco Day Award. The Award was granted on the basis of the Ministry’s long-term commitment to work on tobacco control and its exemplary actions to protect particularly young people from tobacco.

27.3.2019 | The Minister of Social Affairs and Health has selected the Slovakian company Allexis s.r.o. as the issuer of the mandatory identifiers associated with the traceability system for tobacco products

6.9.2024 | On 6 September 2024, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health gave an account of the further preparation of the reform concerning the system of hospitals and emergency care services and the division of duties in specialised healthcare. The Ministry also gave an account of the more than 100 (around 140) comments that were received on the reform.

16.2.2021 | The Government has completed and published its draft proposal for the family leave reform. The draft proposal will be circulated for comments between 19 February and 2 April 2021. 

18.1.2023 | The revised EU Drinking Water Directive has been implemented in Finnish national legislation through statutory amendments that took effect on 12 January 2023. These amendments concern a wide range of laws and regulations. The main goal of the reform is to safeguard the quality of water intended for human consumption and to provide more information on water quality.

2.12.2019 | “To ensure girls’ and women’s active and equal participation in society, the right laws and legal frameworks need to be in place.” Thomas Blomqvist, Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality, said in his speech at the reception of the International Gender Equality Prize award ceremony on 2nd December 2019 in Tampere, Finland.

19.12.2024 | Mediation in domestic violence cases will be discontinued from the beginning of 2025. In future, domestic violence cases can be mediated only when they concern petty offences committed by minors against their parents or other custodians or their relatives.

29.11.2024 | The EU’s Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council will meet in Brussels on 2 December 2024. Minister of Employment Arto Satonen will represent Finland at the meeting.