President and head of WHO Latvia discussed health financing policy of Latvia, state health insurance assistance programme and its potential development scenarios. Uldis Mitenbergs presented WHO position on these issues and emphasised to President Levits that ‘it is crucial to ensure equal access to healthcare services for all inhabitants, irrespective of whether they have been paying taxes, to show that Latvia is a sustainable country’. President replied by underlining the importance of providing universal access to healthcare. Universal access is a constitutional right provided in the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, Satversme. He also said that reduction of the out-of-pocket payments is one of the most pressing needs as Latvia has some of the highest rates, which is unacceptable.
Head of the WHO Latvia also mentioned that according to WHO recommendations at least 12% of general government expenditure should be allocated for healthcare coverage. It is important to strengthen the healthcare system to ensure that it is ready to respond to unforeseen crisis, such as pandemic. Uldis Mitenbergs praised the government for allocating 13% of 2021 budget for healthcare system in its proposed budget bill.
On the topic of recent Coronavirus developments, Head of WHO Latvia gave his assessment of Latvian government’s latest efforts to contain the virus. He described them as proportionate and appropriate, while government’s decisions as coherent with expert recommendations. He also explained that WHO recommendations on containment of COVID-19 foresee different response to various scenarios, i.e. depending on the level of community transmission. WHO strongly insists on countries abiding by these principles to avoid total lockdown and related economic and psycho-emotional consequences whenever possible. Egils Levits stressed: ‘We successfully stopped the spreading of virus this spring. People showed excellent discipline and that resulted in lesser impact on the economy. It is the duty of the government to follow expert recommendations and develop various scenarios on different restrictions that should be considered in case of each of these scenarios. Government must also explain the possible sequence of events in each of these scenarios. People must know what to prepare for.’ Head of WHO Latvia also underlined the importance of government communication in ensuring that people are aware of why something is done and avoid possible disobedience.
President of Latvia Egils Levits wished Uldis Mitenbergs best of luck in his new position (new head of the WHO Latvia was approved only recently, on 1 September 2020) and said he expects Mr Mitenbergs to play active role in solving current challenges and other issues important for the efficiency of healthcare sector.
