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17.2.2026 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is requesting comments on a proposal to amend the Act on Child Home Care Allowances and Private Childcare Allowances. The proposal seeks to promote the integration and employment of women with an immigrant background and to implement the so‑called Norwegian model for child home care allowance, in line with the Government Programme of Prime Minister Petter Orpo.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

16.4.2024 | The Government reached an agreement on the future of the network of hospitals and urgent and emergency health services in its spending limits session. It decided that changes would be made to night-time emergency care services in primary healthcare and to specialised healthcare in certain hospitals. The aim is to balance public expenditure and respond to the shortage of healthcare personnel.

25.2.2021 | A total of over 3,400 new COVID-19 cases were reported between 15 and 21 February 2021, which is clearly more than in the previous week. The incidence of new cases was 62 per 100,000 inhabitants in the whole of Finland, while in the preceding week, it was 46 per 100,000 inhabitants.

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.

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.

25.3.2021 | Between 15 and 21 March, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Finland decreased for the first time since the increase in case numbers in mid-February. Although the rise in the number of cases has subsided at the national level for the time being, new cases are still reported in large numbers. Most of them are reported in southern and southwestern Finland. In March, inpatients in speciali...

11.2.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained at the same level as the week before. Finland has succeeded in curbing the epidemic in many regions. Despite this, the virus has spread throughout the country, and new cases have been reported in large numbers in many hospital districts.

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.

20.1.2022 | Nearly 55,500 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Finland between 10 and 16 January, compared to more than 57,400 new cases in the previous week. The burden on inpatient specialised healthcare remains high. The burden on inpatient primary healthcare is also increasing rapidly. Vaccines provide good protection against the most serious forms of COVID-19. For this reason, it is particularly important that people aged 60 or over and those belonging to risk groups get a third dose.  

3.6.2021 | The COVID-19 situation has improved noticeably in Finland over the past week. There are, however, major regional differences in the development of the epidemic. The incidence of COVID-19 is still higher in southern and southwestern Finland and Central Ostrobothnia than in the rest of the country. The development of the epidemic has, nevertheless, slowed down in many areas.

10.6.2021 | The number of COVID-19 cases is decreasing in Finland, with most areas recording only a small number of new cases. The incidence of COVID-19 cases is higher in some areas of southern Finland than in the rest of the country. However, the epidemic has also continued to slow down in densely populated areas.

20.5.2021 | In Finland, the COVID-19 situation deteriorated very quickly in some areas, also at local level, between 10 and 16 May. Despite this, the number of new cases was about 70 per cent lower than between 8 and 14 March when the number of cases was at its highest.

17.6.2021 | The COVID-19 epidemic has continued to subside throughout Finland within the last two weeks. However, there is still regional variation in the development of the epidemic, as the incidence of COVID-19 cases is higher in some areas of southern Finland than in the rest of the country. Overall, the COVID-19 situation is calm, with most areas recording only a small number of new cases. The estimated effect...

5.8.2021 | The number of new COVID-19 cased has increased by 56 per cent over the last week. The total number of new cases reported between 26 July and -1 August was 4,574 whereas, a week before, the number of new cases was 2,925.

11.3.2021 | Finland recorded nearly 4,400 new cases of COVID-19 between 1 and 7 March, which is the highest number since the epidemic started. The situation is now particularly difficult in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa and the Hospital District of Southwest Finland. The need for hospital care has continued to increase almost throughout the country.