Since 2018, Nordic-Baltic cooperation on health and social well-being has been taking place in Latvia within the Nordic-Baltic Cooperation Project. The Project aims for facilitation and maintaining an ongoing Nordic-Baltic exchange of hands-on experience on social and health issues in solving health- and welfare-related challenges similar for all countries in the region. In order to achieve the project’s goal of mutual support, exchange of experience and knowledge, senior officials from all eight countries have agreed on common priority themes:
- Children and youth
- Elderly people
- People with disabilities
- Mental health
- Preventive measures
- Digitalisation incl. health data sharing etc.
To strengthen this cooperation, discuss current issues and identify where stronger support from international partners is needed, Stefan Eriksson, Director of the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Latvia, Daina Mežecka, Advisor on Social Affairs, and Anita Miruškina, Communication Advisor visited the two ministries responsible.
Health Minister Hosam Abu Meri highlighted the priority issues for the near future in Latvia: physical activity as a tool to promote public health, digitisation of healthcare and social services, mental health, care for the elderly and access to medicines. Minister of Welfare Uldis Augulis listed practical examples of the Nordic countries’ experience and best practices that have initiated positive changes in Latvia, highlighting both what has been done and what is planned in the field of social services and long-term care, as well as gender equality and demography. Latvia shares not only territorial location and climatic conditions with the Nordics, but also the challenges they face in the field of health and social well-being.
Both ministers emphasised the need for exchanges of practical and hands-on experience, and by the end of the current term of the cooperation project at the end of this year, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office has committed to providing information on thematic seminars and conferences in the Nordic countries that allows public administration staff to expand and strengthen their circle of contacts and go on experience exchange trips. The project includes seminars, workshops, conferences (on site or online) as well as Nordic-Baltic senior officials’ meetings. It also covers the Nordic-Baltic knowledge sharing in provision health and social services to the war refugees from Ukraine.
Nordic experience is brought through the Nordic Council of Ministers’ offices in all the Baltic countries by working closely with the following Nordic organisations:
- Nordic Council of Ministers with the Secretariat headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Nordic institutions – mainly the Nordic Welfare Centre, which compares and compiles national experiences and sectoral policies in public health, active and healthy ageing, disability, addictions and refugee integration, among others.
- Nordic expert networks (e.g., the Expert Network on Well-being Technologies and the Expert Network on Dementia), national councils, and national centres of competence (e.g., the Norwegian Centre for Active Ageing).
In Nordic cooperation, the presidency country each year has a specific focus. In 2024, Sweden’s focus in the health and social fields:
- Prevention – including physical activity for children and young people.
- Digital solutions for health and social services.
- Antimicrobial resistance.
- Access to medicines.
- Health and social systems crisis preparedness.
- Preventive measures to avoid involvement in organised crime.
USEFUL RESOURCES
Early intervention methods in child-care
3-year Nordic cooperation project resulting in three research publications:
- The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries: A Situation Analysis
- The First 1000 Days in the Nordic Countries. Psychosocial Interventions and Psychological Tests: A Review of the Evidence
- The First 1000 days in the Nordic Countries: Policy Recommendations
Living conditions of children and young people in the Nordic region
Integrated, digital health and social care services:
- Healthcare and care through distance spanning solutions: 24 practical examples
- Integrated Healthcare and Care through distance spanning solutions: for increased service accessibility
- Welfare Technologies – materials for local municipalities
Age-friendly cities in the Nordic region
Dementia prevention in the Nordic countries
NORDIC CONFERENCES IN 2024
May 7: Digital conference on good and equal health in the Nordics
September 4: Conference in Stockholm on preventing dementia
September 30 – October 1: Nordic Conference in Riga on dementia prevention, services, support for relatives, and adaptation of housing and urban environments.
