Foreword

In 2019, the Nordic prime ministers adopted Our Vision for the Nordic Region to be the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by 2030. Status reports of the work being undertaken to attain the vision from 2023 show that we are well on the way towards a socially sustainable region characterised by good health, high levels of occupation, high levels of trust and low crime.

However, a number of challenges remain and must be addressed if we are to make it all the way. Health and social policy plays an important role in how we will handle these problems and make the most of new opportunities.

The world has changed since the vision was first adopted. We have lived through the biggest pandemic in modern history, war has broken out in Europe, the Nordic countries have seen high levels of inflation and food and energy prices have risen to levels that impact the everyday lives of citizens. At the same time, demographic developments have been characterised by a growing population that is increasingly ageing.

As a result of this, we find ourselves in a Nordic Region where there is a risk that certain groups and areas will be hit particularly hard by global changes.

Our ageing population will place more and more strain on the health and welfare system as more people require support, at the same time as the labour force and the share of young people in the population will continue to shrink. Particularly sparsely populated areas are and will continue to be hit hard.

The pressure on the health and welfare system combined with higher levels of inflation risk generating more social and health inequality in the Nordic Region. Extra efforts are thus required to ensure that everyone has equal access to welfare provisions and that everyone has the same opportunities to live good and healthy lives.

These are just some of the overarching challenges within the area of health and welfare that the Nordic societies are facing. Luckily, however, we also stand before a broad palette of possible solutions, especially when we work in close collaboration with one another.

The Nordic Co-operation Programme for Health and Social Affairs therefore addresses these issues, and it is our ambition that the upcoming three-year working plans will target focus on initiatives that can help us to address and curtail the scope of these challenges.

Happy reading!

In 2019, the Nordic prime ministers adopted Our Vision for the Nordic Region to be the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by 2030. Status reports of the work being undertaken to attain the vision from 2023 show that we are well on the way towards a socially sustainable region characterised by good health, high levels of occupation, high levels of trust and low crime.

However, a number of challenges remain and must be addressed if we are to make it all the way. Health and social policy plays an important role in how we will handle these problems and make the most of new opportunities.

The world has changed since the vision was first adopted. We have lived through the biggest pandemic in modern history, war has broken out in Europe, the Nordic countries have seen high levels of inflation and food and energy prices have risen to levels that impact the everyday lives of citizens. At the same time, demographic developments have been characterised by a growing population that is increasingly ageing.

As a result of this, we find ourselves in a Nordic Region where there is a risk that certain groups and areas will be hit particularly hard by global changes.

Our ageing population will place more and more strain on the health and welfare system as more people require support, at the same time as the labour force and the share of young people in the population will continue to shrink. Particularly sparsely populated areas are and will continue to be hit hard.

The pressure on the health and welfare system combined with higher levels of inflation risk generating more social and health inequality in the Nordic Region. Extra efforts are thus required to ensure that everyone has equal access to welfare provisions and that everyone has the same opportunities to live good and healthy lives.

These are just some of the overarching challenges within the area of health and welfare that the Nordic societies are facing. Luckily, however, we also stand before a broad palette of possible solutions, especially when we work in close collaboration with one another.

The Nordic Co-operation Programme for Health and Social Affairs therefore addresses these issues, and it is our ambition that the upcoming three-year working plans will target focus on initiatives that can help us to address and curtail the scope of these challenges.

Happy reading!

Jakob Forssmed
Minister for Social Affairs, Sweden

Karen Ellemann
Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers

Jakob Forssmed
Swedish Minister for Social Affairs

Karen Ellemann
Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers