Health Minister Tomaž Gantar highlighted the work of nurses and midwives during the new coronavirus epidemic, and thanked them for their hard work and sacrifices.

On the occasion of World Health Day, the Minister noted that healthcare has progressed in recent years, but that there are still many challenges ahead. In his opinion, access to healthcare is one of the major challenges. He emphasised that a public and accessible healthcare system had proven to be a crucial factor during the current coronavirus pandemic.

Nevertheless, access to healthcare in particular remains an important challenge, added the Minister. "This is mainly about the attitude towards the health of the majority of the population. State-of-the-art medicine is unfortunately intended for only a small number of people. Many countries are facing the problem of access to healthcare, including access to the most basic healthcare services," he said.

The Minister added that the pandemic is a time to reflect on "how to make the society fairer for everyone, at least in the area of ​​health, which is a fundamental human value".

According to his assessment, the Slovene healthcare system is based on solidarity and is at a high professional level. Furthermore, the pandemic has pointed to cracks in the systems that have been considered model until recently. "We can be pleased that in Slovenia we have insisted on having a public healthcare system accessible to the masses," he said, and added that, in the current situation, the public healthcare network was able to meet basic healthcare needs.