The Health Preservation and Strengthening Development Program has been approved
The government has approved a Health Preservation and Strengthening Development Program for 2022–2023, which will be coordinated by the Ministry of Health. This program is part of the National Progress Plan for the period 2021-2030.
The programmme provides for three key lines of action, including the management of health threats: 1) to improve the management of health threats and risk factors; 2) to strengthen the mental health of the population and to develop the control and prevention of the use of psychoactive substances; 3) to improve the availability of quality public health services in the regions.
Under the program, the average healthy life expectancy for men from 56 years to 2019 is likely to increase up to 62.6 years in 2030, and the average healthy life expectancy for women will increase from 59.1 years to 65 years in the same period.
„We die too early, we become a sack of preventable diseases too early. And all this - in our own hands - even 49 percent of all deaths in Lithuania are caused by lifestyle and environmental risk factors: diet, tobacco, alcohol consumption, and lack of physical activity. We have to set a goal for ourselves and everyone together - our health must be better. We will make every effort to create conditions for the population to achieve this,” says the Minister of Health Arūnas Dulkys.
It is planned to increase the proportion of adults who rate their health as good and very good from 58% in 2018 up to 70 percent by 2030; suicide mortality should decrease: reached 23.5 cases per 100 thousand of population in 2019 it, and in 2030, this figure is expected to be reduced to 13 deaths.
Preventive measures will be aimed at reducing preventable mortality: from 293 deaths per 100 thousand of population in 2018 to 160 deaths in 2030. The proportion of personal and public health care institutions belonging to the Lithuanian national health system that are ready to act in emergency situations will increase to 95% in 2030; this figure was 67 percent in 2020.
The program will indirectly contribute to other objectives of the National Development Program aimed at improving the well-being of the disabled and other vulnerable persons, the family environment, and the availability of high-quality and innovative health care services. Efforts will be made to improve resilience to health threats by including education and public participation in cultural activities and other areas.
To implement the measures of the Development Program for 2021-2030 will need over 111 million euros, which will be allocated from the state budget and the European Social Fund.
The analysis of the situation shows that now the health indicators of the Lithuanian population lag significantly behind the European Union (EU) countries. Preventive mortality in Lithuania is 2.5 times higher than in the EU. Unhealthy lifestyle is determined by smoking, alcohol consumption - 10 percent (EU - 6%), irrational diet - 32% (EU - 18%). The average life expectancy of Lithuanian men is 6.9 years shorter compared to other EU countries.
Low public health literacy, excessive use of psychoactive substances, insufficient attention to the mental health of vulnerable groups, and the prevailing stigma of mental and behavioural disorders have a significant impact on health indicators. The mental health of the Lithuanian population is poor: the number of suicides remains high for many years - 21.7 cases per 100 thousand of population (EU - 11 cases), men kill 4 times more often than women.
According to the index of positive emotions, Lithuania is among the 10 countries with the least positive emotions in the world. A representative survey of the population conducted in April 2021 showed that 46 percent of respondents rated their emotional state as deteriorating during the second wave of COVID-19.
Press Office of the Ministry of Health
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Last updated: 28-03-2022
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