Publikācijas

Latvia and Covid-19: Preliminary impressions

Latvia and Covid-19: Preliminary impressions

Like in other countries also in Latvia the COVID-19 pandemic has set numerous challenges having caused an unprecedented health-related and economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that the global economy shrunk by 4.4 percent in 2020 and such a decline created the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930’s with the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The crisis undermined global financial stability, and large segments of the global economy ground to a standstill. Despite the development of new vaccines, uncertainty remains what recovery could look like.

Latvia: Health System Review

This analysis of the Latvian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health care provision, health reforms and health system performance. After regaining independence in 1991, Latvia experimented with a social health insurance type system. However, to overcome decentralization and fragmentation of the system, the National Health Service (NHS) was established in 2011 with universal population coverage.