– The Swedish healthcare system plays an important role in our society’s resilience. This is actualized not least through NATO membership. The government has been working for several years to strengthen health care as part of civil preparedness, says Health Care Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson.
On March 7, 2024, Sweden became a full member of NATO. NATO is a defense alliance that aims to protect the freedom and security of its allies. Health care has a central role in Swedish total defense and the ongoing work to strengthen and develop health care preparedness coincides well with the demands NATO places on the allies’ ability to handle missile damage outcomes.
A central principle within NATO is that all allies must have an individual and collective ability to face an armed attack. This means, among other things, that issues of resilience and civil preparedness are seen as a national responsibility, but at the same time are considered a collective commitment. Based on the civilian preparedness work, NATO has identified seven basic civilian capability requirements, of which the management of missile damage outcomes has a direct impact on healthcare.
In practice, NATO membership can mean, among other things, that Swedish healthcare needs to be able to take care of injured soldiers from allied states’ units.
How does the government work to fulfill the requirements for healthcare?
With the Total Defense 2021–2025 bill as a basis, the government is working on a series of reforms and measures to strengthen healthcare as part of civil defense and increase its resilience. Since 2018, the state has been providing grants to the regions for their work with healthcare preparedness. Furthermore, since 2022, the regions have received grants to increase the stock of certain priority medicines. The government strengthens that work by instructing state authorities to produce knowledge bases, guidelines or other support for health care. During 2021 – 2024, the government has left around 50 assignments to state authorities relating to the development of health care preparedness.
Several measures in the ongoing work on healthcare preparedness aim to create a national capacity to handle worm damage outcomes. This means, among other things, nationally coordinating medical transport, care facilities, blood, medicines and other healthcare products should the worst happen. Several of the tasks that the government has decided on are aimed at this.
It is the heads of the health care system, the regions, who, with the support of the state authorities and in some cases with grants from the state, need to take concrete measures in the continued work to increase the capacity within the health care system.
Tags: Swedish healthcare NATO membership
