Ministry of Health and Social Affairs

Åsa Lindhagen will be heading the Swedish delegation at the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York on 11–22 March. This year’s theme – social protection systems – is intended to highlight global challenges for gender equality.

Sweden has a feminist government. We are committed to building a society in which girls and boys, women and men have the same power to shape society and their own lives, and live their lives to their full potential. Gender equality is a human right and is ultimately a question of democracy, representation and social justice. At the same time, gender equality is part of the solution to creating jobs and growth.

The Government wishes to mitigate the consequences for Swedish citizens in the United Kingdom in the event that the country leaves the EU without reaching any agreement whatsoever on how this withdrawal is to take place. Among other things, the government bill submitted to the Riksdag proposes that, in the event of a hard Brexit, it should still be possible to pay Swedish social security benefits to individuals in the United Kingdom over a transitional period. It is also proposed that it should still be possible to receive compensation for healthcare expenses over the same period.

In the social security area, the immediate effect of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU is that central EU legal provisions will no longer apply. To prevent any acute consequences, the Government is planning to take measures that will primarily mitigate the effects that may arise for individuals during the initial period after the withdrawal. The proposals aim to allow a period of adjustment.

The Council of Europe has published its first review of how Sweden is fulfilling its commitments under the organisation’s convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention). The Convention, to which Sweden acceded in 2014, is the most comprehensive and detailed instrument for human rights in this area.

On Monday 21 January, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven presented the Statement of Government Policy in the Riksdag and announced the ministers that make up the Government. Åsa Lindhagen is Minister for Gender Equality, with responsibility for anti-discrimination and anti-segregation.

The Government today appointed 31 state secretaries at the Government Offices. Former state secretaries have been dismissed from their positions. Most of the state secretaries have previously held corresponding positions at the Government Offices.

The 2030 Agenda offers us a new opportunity to influence and help improve the health situation for people in Sweden and globally. By acting globally, we create conditions for positive developments in our own country while also contributing to, and taking responsibility for, positive developments in the world at large. The document Sweden’s work on global health seeks to bring together and consolidate existing strategies, priorities and policies with the aim of setting out a clear and common agenda and creating the conditions for more effective communications, increased collaboration and, ultimately, more impactful Swedish action.

In June 2018, the Government adopted a national action plan to combat female genital mutilation.The aim of the action plan is to prevent and combat female genital mutilation and improve victim support, to achieve the Government’s goals for gender equality policy, child rights policy and youth policy, as well as the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

In this film, Minister for the Elderly Lena Hallengren talks about investments in care for older people for 2015–2018. For example, the Government has invested SEK 7 billion to increase staffing levels in care for older people, it will be easier to receive home-help services, a dementia strategy has been adopted and investment support for housing for older people is now available.