Ministry of Health and Social Affairs

The first meeting of the year for the Government’s task force for Jewish life was held at the Jewish Museum in Stockholm at the beginning of March. The group’s focus area this year is Jewish life, which coincides with celebrations marking 250 years of established Jewish life in Sweden. The group will also continue to focus on security.

On 21–23 May, Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall and Minister for Older People and Social Security Anna Tenje visited Lviv, Ukraine. While in Ukraine, Ms Waltersson Grönvall and Ms Tenje took part in the Ministerial Social Policy Summit, which Sweden co-hosted together with Ukraine, Moldova and Lithuania. Ministers from several EU countries were also in attendance.

The Swedish Government has adopted a national strategy to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism. This strategy will provide a structure for national efforts in the period 2025–2034. The objective is to lay the foundations for more targeted and coordinated efforts and create better conditions for Jewish life in Sweden.

On December 12, 2024, the Swedish Government decided on an Action Plan against racism and hate crimes. With this Action Plan, the Swedish Government is taking important steps forward in its work to safeguard equal rights and opportunities for all by intensifying efforts to make Sweden a country free from racism and hate crime.

Today, 13 March, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa has announced that Sweden will increase development assistance to Ukraine by more than SEK 1.4 billion with the aim of strengthening Ukraine’s resilience and recovery.

Preventive, accessible and knowledge-based: this is how the Swedish Government envisions the Swedish social services.

More than 600 leading Swedish and international companies, investors and decision-makers gathered in Stockholm on 19 February for the Join Sweden Summit, the Government’s international investment conference that set a new attendance record this year. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hosted the conference.

Sweden and Australia are entering into negotiations on a bilateral social security agreement. The agreement will enable closer cooperation with Australia and facilitate the mobility of people and business between the two countries.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jewish life in Sweden. The anniversary is an opportunity to highlight the Jewish minority, Jewish culture and Jewish cultural heritage that is found all over the country. The Government has therefore tasked a number of agencies with contributing to the observance of the anniversary.

On Wednesday 19 February, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is hosting the Join Sweden Summit 2025, bringing together more than 600 international and Swedish companies, investors and decision makers. HRH Prince Daniel will open the conference and a number of Government ministers are also participating.

The Swedish presidency statement delivered by Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall at the UN Women Executive Board meeting, UN Main Building, New York. Check against delivery.

Sweden’s national life sciences strategy serves as a long-range framework, and the strategy’s eight priority areas remain the starting point for this update of the previous strategy from 2019.

Opinion piece by Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health Jakob Forssmed, Altinget, 4 February 2025

Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health Jakob Forssmed has been appointed Vice-Chair of the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on Antimicrobial Resistance, a UN body made up of politicians and experts.

The Government is announcing a new action plan for an inclusive and equal society. The action plan aims to further strengthen efforts to support rights and opportunities for LGBTIQ people by consolidating, supplementing and mobilising these efforts.

Dementia is one of the major public health issues of our time. The number of people living with a dementia diagnosis is increasing. At the same time research in the field is advancing rapidly. The Government therefore plans to adopt an updated national dementia strategy to improve health and social care for people with dementia. The Government also intends to approve government agency assignments and funding in the field.

In 2025, the 250th anniversary of established Jewish life in Sweden will be celebrated. This will be an opportunity to highlight the Jewish minority, culture and cultural heritage throughout the country. The Government has therefore, in appropriation directions for 2025, instructed a number of government agencies to help highlight the 250th anniversary. The year 2025 also marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

On Thursday 28 November, the Task Force for Jewish life in Sweden held its final meeting of the year. The main topic was education, which has been the task force’s main focus in 2024. Representatives from a number of organisations were invited to take part and talk about their work in this area.

This compilation contains a selection of the acts and ordinances – both new and amended – that enter into force in the second half of 2024 or in early 2025.

The Government is announcing a new action plan to combat racism and hate crime. Through this concerted action, the Government is taking important steps in the efforts to free Sweden from racism and hate crime. The efforts in this area will be accurate, measurable and long-term. Schools, judiciary, welfare and working life will be in focus.