News

28.05.2025

Almost every public awareness campaign on national security emphasizes the individual responsibility of citizens to prepare for crises — such as maintaining essential supplies or assembling a 72-hour emergency kit. This requirement is logical: like other nations implementing a comprehensive defence model, Latvia must engage the entire population in resilience and civil preparedness. In practice, individuals are expected to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours, and ideally seven to ten days, until assistance arrives.

22.03.2025

Crises such as hybrid threats, armed conflicts, natural disasters, pandemics, and economic turmoil frequently pose significant challenges to the protection of human rights. In these circumstances, states and the international community must ensure that fundamental freedoms and rights remain safeguarded—even when drastic measures become necessary.

17.03.2025

Latvia’s medicine shortages signal a deeper systemic risk. Raina Dūrēja-Dombrovska calls for urgent state action: strategic reserves, support for local drug producers, and a clear long-term healthcare strategy to protect patients and national security.

14.03.2025

Crises—from wars to pandemics—can disrupt critical services without warning. Liene Cipule, Director of the Emergency Medical Service, argues that Latvia must shift from passive hope to proactive planning, ensuring hospitals, pharmacies, and infrastructure are prepared to respond rapidly and effectively.

10.03.2025

Emergency Medical Service Director Liene Cipule, awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Recognition, shares frontline insights from Ukraine’s war hospitals. Her story highlights the urgent need for medical system resilience in the face of modern warfare and humanitarian crises.

27.02.2025

Medicine access is a matter of national security. In this reflection, a healthcare expert calls on the state to create structured medicine reserve systems and clear crisis protocols, while urging citizens and pharmacists to take active roles in safeguarding community health.

26.02.2025

Crises test the strength of human rights protections—especially the right to health. In this piece, a Latvian human rights expert explores how conflict, disaster, and systemic gaps challenge healthcare access, and how community cooperation and state readiness must evolve together.

06.02.2025

Latvia’s first crisis handbook for pharmacists offers practical steps to maintain pharmacy services during national emergencies — from power outages to supply chain disruptions. With training and expert guidance, pharmacies are becoming key pillars of resilience.

17.01.2025

15–20% – tik liels zāļu cenu samazinājums vēl pagājušā gada vasarā bija Veselības ministrijas jaunās zāļu cenu reformas mērķis. Skaļā apņemšanās saglabāta joprojām. Tikmēr farmaceiti, aptiekas un lieltirgotāji no 1. janvāra ieviesto reformu sauc par haosu, paužot bažas par zāļu pieejamību, aptieku pastāvēšanu, farmaceitu darba sarežģīšanu un zāļu cenu veidošanos. Šie bija tikai daži no 15. janvāra raidījuma "Kas notiek Latvijā?" tematiem.   

10.01.2025

Healthcare reforms in Latvia have sparked critical discussions among pharmacy leaders about their impact on pharmacists, medicine prices, and patient care. Experts call for better planning, patient-centered policy, and recognition of pharmacists’ essential role in the health system.

06.01.2025

Despite appearances, Latvia's healthcare system is struggling beneath the surface. A personal story reveals deep flaws in health financing, reform planning, and political priorities—raising urgent questions about sustainability, transparency, and long-term solutions.

01.01.2025

Latvia's new drug pricing model introduces fixed wholesale mark-ups, prescription service fees, and targeted support for rural pharmacies. Learn how these changes will affect patients, pharmacies, and the overall healthcare system.

13.12.2024

The think tank Resilience of Health Care Systems unites experts from health, defense, and education to address medicine availability and sector sustainability in Latvia. As reforms take effect and EU compliance is questioned, pharmacy leaders call for balanced, people-centered policies.