News and press releases

Latest news from the Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister can be found here.

News and press releases from previous governments can be found in the Historical archive.

  • First wounded soldiers from Ukraine arrive

    13/06/2022 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Justice and Public Security

    The first wounded soldiers from Ukraine who are due to receive treatment in Norwegian hospitals have arrived in Norway.

  • Norway extends agreement on medical evacuation from Ukraine

    02/02/2024 News story Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health and Care Services

    Norway is extending its cooperation with the EU on transporting Ukrainian patients to Norway and other European hospitals for medical treatment. Norway will continue the medical evacuation operation until November 2024.

  • First Lady Olena Zelenska and Minister of Health and Care Services Jan Christian Vestre visited youth services

    24/10/2025 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, this week visited Headspace, a counselling service in Oslo, together with the Minister of Health and Care Services, Jan Christian Vestre. Headspace is a low-threshold service for young people aged 12-25 and

  • State budget for 2025: NOK 400 million for mental health and substance abuse

    16/10/2024 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    In the state budget for 2025, the Norwegian government is proposing to allocate NOK 400 million for following up on the escalation plan for mental health and the upcoming prevention and treatment reform for the field of substance abuse.

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    Challenges and Opportunities in Global Health

    01/12/2025 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister

    In a world increasingly shaped by conflict, climate change, financial constraints, and growing mistrust in science, the global health landscape faces both unprecedented challenges and transformative opportunities. As evidencebased decision-making

  • Revised National Budget: Additional round-the-clock care places

    16/05/2023 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    To ensure good and safe health and care services for the elderly, the Government proposes to increase the grant limit for round-the-clock care facilities by NOK 2 billion. The Government also proposes to expand the Tørn programme under the Norwegian

  • Revised National Budget: Hospitals will receive larger budgets

    16/05/2023 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The Norwegian Government proposes a permanent budget increase for hospitals, in addition to extraordinary price and wage adjustments in the hospital budgets. This amounts to a total of NOK 4.7 billion.

  • Norway to take in Ukrainian refugees from Moldova and assist in medical evacuation

    22/03/2022 Press release Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Justice and Public Security

    In response to a request from Moldova, the Norwegian Government has agreed to help the country by bringing Ukrainian refugees from Moldova to Norway. In addition, Norway will transport Ukrainian refugees needing medical care to Norwegian hospitals

  • Temporary legislative changes proposed to ensure readiness to receive large numbers of displaced Ukrainians

    29/04/2022 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The situation in Ukraine and the surrounding areas is unpredictable and Norway is planning in order to be able to receive a large number of displaced persons. High numbers of arrivals will increase pressure on basic welfare services, including

  • Norway will take the lead in European public health cooperation

    17/02/2023 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The EU has invested 75 million euros into public health, and has asked Norway to lead this project.

  • Women’s Health Commission submits report

    16/03/2023 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The Minister of Health and Care Services, Ingvild Kjerkol, received the Norwegian Official Report (NOU), titled “The Big Difference: On Women’s Health in Norway and Why Sex and Gender Matter” from the Women’s Health Comission.

  • The Healthcare Personnel Commission delivers its report

    02/02/2023 Press release Ministry of Health and Care Services

    On Thursday 2 February, the Minister of Health and Care Services, Ingvild Kjerkol, delivered the Healthcare Personnel Commission’s report titled Time to Act: Personnel in a sustainable health and care service.

  • Norway receives award for the evacuation of Ukrainian patients to Norway and other European countries

    04/06/2024 Press release Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health and Care Services

    Since August 2022, Norway has offered regular weekly flights to European countries to evacuate Ukrainian patients. The European Commission has described the flights as a mainstay of Europe’s civilian support to Ukraine. Today, Norway together with

  • Three years of medical evacuation of Ukrainian patients

    27/02/2025 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    Ever since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Norway has contributed to the medical evacuation of Ukrainian patients. In total, Norway has transported around 2,250 patients to Norway and other European countries for

  • State budget for 2025: Bolstering investment in women’s health

    17/10/2024 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    To date, the Norwegian government has bolstered investment in targeted women’s health initiatives to the tune of around NOK 150 million. In the proposed state budget for 2025, the government is suggesting a further NOK 13 million to follow up on the

  • Norway has received eight more patients from Gaza

    11/04/2025 Press release Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ministry of Justice and Public Security

    ‘The health system in Gaza has collapsed, many clinics have been reduced to rubble and very little treatment is available. I am very pleased that Norway is able to help more patients from Gaza. So far, we have evacuated a total of 18 patients and 38

  • Revised National Budget: NOK 32 million proposed for online doctor trial

    15/05/2025 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    As part of the strategy to improve GP services, the government has introduced a trial scheme for online doctors. In the revised national budget, the government proposes an additional NOK 32 million to the municipalities for the trial, taking the

  • Norway extends agreement on medical evacuation of Ukrainian patients

    24/09/2024 Press release Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The Norwegian government extends the agreement with the EU on medical evacuation of Ukrainian patients until 30 April 2025. Norwegian air transport has accounted for almost half of the evacuations from Ukraine to European countries, and Norway is

  • National budget 2026: Three concrete budget measures for better and more accessible GP services

    22/10/2025 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The government proposes to allocate NOK 115 million to renew, strengthen and improve GP services. In addition, the government wants 16- and 17-year-olds to be exempt from paying for GP appointments and out-of-hours medical services.

  • National budget 2026: A hospital budget for faster hospital care

    27/10/2025 News story Ministry of Health and Care Services

    The government is proposing to strengthen the hospitals’ budget framework by NOK 3.4 billion in 2026. This will help ensure shorter waiting times and better cooperation between specialised health services and municipal services.

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