New Pandemic Preparedness Plan takes account of experiences during COVID-19 era

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Heath published a revised National Pandemic Preparedness Plan for Healthcare and Social Welfare, which aims to promote health security and combat the effects of pandemics on people and society.

The Plan was prepared in cooperation with several authorities, and it takes into account the changes resulting from the reform of the healthcare and social welfare system as well as experiences gained during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is important to remember that no two pandemics are ever alike. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic showed how widely pandemics affect people’s security, health, work and life as a whole. As a society, we went through tough years, and the experiences gained during those years have been taken into account in the revised Plan. The Plan provides an overall picture of Finland’s pandemic preparedness based on existing legislation,” says Director General Taneli Puumalainen from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. 

Plan supports regional preparedness planning 

The Pandemic Preparedness Plan has been drawn up to support preparedness planning in the healthcare and social welfare sector, and it is meant to be used both regionally and nationally. The Plan is intended for all those working in the field of pandemic preparedness and the security of society. 

The purpose is that the wellbeing services counties make use of the Plan when preparing their regional preparedness plans and organisations make use of it when preparing their internal preparedness plans. This is to ensure that the preparedness plans will be in line with each other and to promote cooperation between operators.

The previous version of the Pandemic Preparedness Plan was published in 2012. 

• National Pandemic Preparedness Plan (in Finnish)

Inquiries:

Aino Pennanen, Senior Medical Officer, tel. +358 295 163 314, aino.h.pennanen(at)gov.fi

Taneli Puumalainen, Director General, tel. +358 295 163 280, taneli.puumalainen(at)gov.fi