Ministry of Health and Social Affairs

There is now an ongoing outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Swedish Government is following developments carefully and is in continuous contact with the responsible authorities. Below is a selection of the Government’s decisions and initiatives that have been taken so far in the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs’ areas.

The Government is proposing to temporarily suspend the medical certificate requirement from the eighth calendar day of a sick pay period.

(New version) Due to the COVID-19 virus, the Government has announced that the sickness benefit standard deduction will temporarily be abolished in that the central government will pay sickness benefit for the first day of sickness. The ultimate aim of this measure is to reduce the spread of infection in society. The new regulation is in effect from 11 March until 11 May 2020.

In light of the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, the Government has decided to contribute SEK 40 million to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Contingency Fund for Emergencies. The aim of the fund is to strengthen the WHO’s ability to act rapidly, without negatively affecting its other activities, when, for example, there is an outbreak of communicable diseases.

Sweden’s human rights compliance will be reviewed within the framework of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Monday 27 January in Geneva. Sweden’s delegation at the review before the UN Human Rights Council will for the first time be led by a government minister – Åsa Lindhagen, Minister for Gender Equality with responsibility for anti-discrimination and anti-segregation.

This information material contains a selection of the acts and ordinances – both new and amended – that enter into force in the second half of 2019 or some time thereafter.

Interesting discussions and new perspectives characterised the National Innovation Council meeting and thematic day at Linnaeus University in Kalmar on 23 October. The aim of the Council’s regional meetings is to learn from local and regional experiences and to develop the national policy. Alongside the meeting, various workshops were also organised as part of the Innovation Council’s thematic day.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council that involves a periodic review of the human rights situation in all UN Member States. It is now time for Sweden to be reviewed within the framework of the third cycle of the UPR.

In the Budget Bill for 2020, the Government presents a range of proposals to increase security and welfare in Sweden. Here you can learn more about the proposals related to the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.