News
10.12.2020|Ministry of Social Affairs
Estonia is preparing to start COVID-19 vaccination in January
At today's meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik introduced the pre-purchase agreement of COVID-19 vaccine between the European Commission and the pharmaceutical company Moderna. It is one of seven pre-purchase agreements for the European Union's vaccine portfolio that the government decided to join last week. State authorities and the health care system are preparing to start vaccination as soon as the vaccines arrive in Estonia. The first vaccines may receive an EU marketing authorization by the end of the year, and the first deliveries arrive in Estonia in January.
25.09.2020|Ministry of Social Affairs
International conference ´Food, no Waste!´
On 29 September, the first International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is celebrated. On that day, the generation of food waste will be discussed by the Estonian Food Bank, Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs, Estonian Ministry of the Environment, and many international experts. They will also be talking about solutions on how to redistribute the surplus quality food most effectively.
20.08.2020|Ministry of Social Affairs
The Estonian coronavirus mobile application HOIA is now available for download
Starting today, August 20, the mobile app HOIA is available for download to your phone via www.hoia.me, helping to curb the spread of the coronavirus with the help of app users. The application notifies the user if he has been in close contact with an infected person. The phones of the users of the application exchange anonymous codes, and the state, the manufacturer of the application, or the manufacturer of the phone will not know who was in close contact with whom.
09.07.2020
People who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 health crisis get an opportunity to develop their skills at online courses from international institutions
The online education platform Coursera offers the opportunity to join their program to unemployed people and to those who have been displaced, negatively affected or at risk of losing their job due to the impact of COVID-19. Up to 50 000 learners can be registered by Estonia to study for free until the end of the year. More information and the registration form is available here.
01.06.2020
The provision of job mediation helps to reduce seasonal labour shortages
From today, it is possible for those short-term foreign workers s who are currently unemployed, but have the right to continue working in Estonia in case they find a job to receive job mediation from Unemployment Insurance Fund. Previously, an employee had to be at a previous job to receive a job mediation from Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.
28.04.2020|Ministry of Social Affairs
The government approved the allocation of 213 million euros to cover extraordinary health care costs
The government approved the allocation of 213 million euros to cover extraordinary health care costs. In total, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund will be allocated more than € 213.2 million from the 2020 supplementary budget to cover extraordinary health care costs, of which nearly € 40.7 million will be for temporary incapacity benefits and € 172.5 million for the health care system.
20.03.2020
The Government approved the measure for supporting employers and workers in difficulties because of the corona virus
The Government approved the measure for supporting employers and workers in difficulties because of the corona virus
12.03.2020|Ministry of Social Affairs
Health Ministers of the Baltic States: we are working closely together to limit the spread of coronavirus
The Baltic health ministers Tanel Kiik, Ilze Viņķele and Aurelijus Veryga adopted a joint statement on coronavirus stressing the importance of solidarity and mutual support between the countries. Ministers reaffirm their intention to provide mutual assistance to improve health system preparedness as well as to cope with possible outbreaks.
11.03.2020|Ministry of Social Affairs
Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik presented to the government the suggestions on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus
On the 28 of February, Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik sent the Members of the Government the suggestions on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The workgroup led by the Minister of Social Affairs also proposed to expand the regional capacity for testing against the coronavirus and install infrared cameras to the airport and harbour to detect the potentially infected persons among those arriving from risk areas.
07.10.2019|Ministry of Social Affairs
21 million euros of additional financing will be allocated to social security and regional development
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein together with Estonian co-financing will invest a total of 21.2 million euros to physical activity of children, social security and regional development in Estonia. The activities of the European Economic Area and Norwegian Grants programme „Local Development and Poverty Reduction” also deal with educational support services to local governments, introducing restorative justice measures when dealing with children and youth at risk and preserving cultural heritage in historic town centres.