Government to Allocate Funds to Strengthen Maternity and Women’s Health Care
The Swedish government has announced plans to allocate 1.6 billion annually to strengthen maternity care and care for diseases that predominantly affect women and girls. This decision reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring access to equal care throughout the country.
As part of this allocation, Region Västernorrland is set to receive approximately SEK 31 million in financial additions in 2024 to improve women’s health care in the region. The government aims to address the existing regional differences in the outcome of care for diseases and conditions that mainly affect women and girls.
The government has identified equal health as one of the six gender equality policy goals. Despite this, follow-ups have shown that women consistently experience poorer health than men, particularly women with a lower level of education. Additionally, diseases that mainly affect women and girls are not researched to the same extent as other diseases, highlighting the need for further development of care and treatment for these conditions.
In a bid to strengthen women’s health care, the government plans to develop and strengthen knowledge and research on women’s diseases and conditions. There is also an emphasis on enhancing care for victims of sexual violence, with a specific focus on both children and adults who have experienced such trauma.
Maternity care is also a key focus, with the government aiming to ensure that every woman feels safe with care during pregnancy and before, during, and after childbirth. Efforts to make maternity care more accessible, equal, and person-centered will be supported, and the government has tasked the National Board of Health and Welfare with developing a national maternity plan to ensure safe maternity care with good working conditions for healthcare staff.
In a push to reduce regional differences and strengthen maternal health care in rural areas, the government will allocate SEK 150 million specifically for this purpose in 2024. This funding is intended to support efforts to strengthen the availability and quality of care, including measures such as reopening maternity clinics, preserving clinics at risk of closure, and enhancing accessibility through patient hotels or other quality-enhancing initiatives.
The Christian Democrats in government have emphasized the importance of these investments, stating that the aim is to ensure that Sweden’s healthcare is needs-based, easily accessible, and equal for all. Acko Ankarberg Johansson, Minister of Health, and Maria Borgehammar, member of Region Västernorrland, have both emphasized the government’s commitment to improving women’s health care throughout the country.