Lithuania Cross-country analysis of the use of EU Recovery and Resilience Funds
Based on interviews with experts from The Lithuanian Ministry of Health and The Lithuanian Public Health Bureaus Association.
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Key findings from interviews with experts
Experts emphasised issues related to an abundance of hospital beds, as well as persisting fragmentation in the health sector.
A series of reforms are planned within the healthcare system. This aims to include integrating hospital and primary healthcare institutions and improving the quality of primary care.
There is a lack of resources directed towards public health, particularly prevention initiatives. Public health in Lithuania remains highly underfunded, receiving approximately 2% of the entire health budget.
The Lithuanian Recovery and Resilience Plan A short overview
| POLICY AREA 1: Resilience to health system threats | |
|---|---|
| INVESTMENTS | RRF (m/€) |
| Improving quality and accessibility of health services and promoting innovation | 148 |
| Long-term care reform | 109 |
| Strengthening of emergency responses | 11 |
| POLICY AREA 4: Quality and affordable education | |
|---|---|
| INVESTMENTS | RRF (m/€) |
| Modern education for the acquisition of basic competencies | 246.32 |
| Training systems for green and digital transition | 37 |
| Development opportunities for adults | 18.20 |
| Vocational guidance system | 10 |
| POLICY AREA 7: Social protection | |
|---|---|
| INVESTMENTS | RRF (m/€) |
| Employment sponsoring | 108.81 |
| Guaranteed minimum income protection | 0.4 |
| POLICY AREA 2: Green transformation | |
|---|---|
| INVESTMENTS | RRF (m/€) |
| Clean mobility | 346.91 |
| Sustainable urban environment | 217.8 |
2022 Country specific recommendations for health equity
Each spring, the European Commission and European Council make Country Specific Recommendations to provide tailored advice to individual Member States on how to boost jobs, growth and investment, while maintaining sound public finances.
Lithuanian Country Specific Recommendations 2022 that are most relevant for health equity
3. [...] Strengthen primary and preventive care. Reduce fragmentation in the planning
and delivery of social services and improve their personalisation and integration with
other services. Improve access to and quality of social housing [...]
Country Report 2022
The accompanying Country Report analyse each EU Member State’s key socioeconomic challenges with the aim of providing a framework for the coordination of social and economic policies across the European Union.
Lithuanian 2022 report contained a number of elements that are directly relevant to health equity.
Project under the RRP
Resilience to health system threats
Policy area 1 aims to increase the sustainability and resilience of Lithuania’s health system, enabling more flexible responses to changing environmental factors and demographic changes. This policy area consists of 3 reforms: improving the quality and availability of services and promoting innovation; reform of the provision of long-term care; and systematic strengthening of the health system’s resilience to emergency situations.
Other project under the Lithuanian Recovery and Resilience Plan
Suggestions for the future
Increase investments in public health, particularly health prevention and promotion
Better collaboration with primary healthcare centres
Incentivise careers within public health
Improve competencies of national and local healthcare actors
Engage local communities in the implementation of the RRP
Tackle health inequalities between rural and developed areas
“Public health is fragmented in Lithuania but I also think that public health is fragmented in the European Union. There is need for more collaboration in this area … Public health shouldn’t be so fragmented.”
Expert at Ministry of Health, Lithuania
“The public health budget has never been as big as that for primary healthcare centres or hospitals. In the future we have to think about this, because public health results are critical for the long-term sustainability of health.”
Expert at Lithuanian Public Health Bureaus Association, Lithuania
This report was produced by EuroHealthNet, the European partnership of organisations, institutes, and authorities working on public health, disease prevention, promoting health and wellbeing, and reducing inequalities. We aim to tackle health inequalities within and between European States through action on the social determinants of health. Read more about us on our website.
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