Government supports the public health development plan 2020-2030

Tallinn, Stenbock House, 6 February 2020 – The government supported the public health development plan presented by Social Minister Tanel Kiik for the next ten years and will send it to the Riigikogu for discussion before final confirmation. The main objective of public health policy is to increase the life expectancy of Estonian people and the number of years of healthy life, and to reduce inequalities in health.

“Good health is our nation’s most important asset. The vision document approved today will help us to keep and promote the health of the Estonian people,” Prime Minister Jüri Ratas said. “Public health is important not only for the growth of social welfare and birth rates, but also for the development of the economy. The good health of Estonian people guarantees the sustainability of our country.”

The objectives of the public health development plan 2020-2030 are to increase the average life expectancy of Estonian people by 2030 to 78 years of age in men and to 84 in women, and increase the average years of healthy living to 62 years of age in men and to 63 in women.

The development plan also sets the goal that by 2030 no county will have a life expectancy more than two years below the Estonian average, and the life expectancy of people with basic education will not be less than six years from the life expectancy of people with higher education.

“The life expectancy of Estonian people has increased significantly in the last decade, but the years of healthy living have not increased at the same rate,” said Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik. “Most of the years of our lives are lost due to cardiovascular diseases, malignancies, injuries and mental health disorders. These are priority areas over the next decade, where achieving better health indicators would bring about a positive change in the health of the whole population.”

The development plan consists of three programmes: human-centred healthcare, health-supporting choices and a health-supporting environment. The health supported options programme discusses the choices a person can make to shape their own habits and lifestyle. The environment programme for health shall focus on the health impacts arising from the environment around us; chemical, physical and biological risks and factors. The human-centred healthcare programme will focus on ways to provide health and social services that meet people's needs and expectations, which are safe, of high quality, and which are more integrated than ever.

During the preparation of the development plan, meetings were held with representatives of interest groups and partners. In total, representatives from more than 30 organisations have been involved in the process of preparing the development plan. Representatives of patients, doctors, medical students, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists, entrepreneurs and traders, the chemical industry, the food industry, pharmacy assistants and pharmacists, health promoters, researchers and local authorities have participated in the discussions.