On 18 March, President Edgars Rinkēvičs held a meeting with Minister of Health Hosam Abu Meri at the Riga Castle. During the meeting, current issues related to health sector financing, the situation and planned developments in the field of youth mental health, the progress of digitization in the health sector, the regulation of biomedical research development, as well as the provision of critical medicines in crisis situations were discussed.
The President was briefed on the current situation regarding the provision of critical medicines in crisis situations.
During the meeting, E. Rinkēvičs brought attention to the challenges in the field of mental health care for young people. "Mandatory treatment of children for mental or behavioural disorders caused by substance abuse has proven to be ineffective in practice. The existing regulatory framework and insufficient funding lead to a situation where the state is not fulfilling its statutory obligation," the President of Latvia said.
During the conversation, President Rinkēvičs highlighted the significance of promoting a regulation that would facilitate the development of biomedical research in Latvia.
