The resilience of the country’s healthcare institutions was discussed: investments in hospital infrastructure are part of Europe’s security
Today, Minister of Health Marija Jakubauskienė met with European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius to discuss the country’s healthcare system preparedness to operate under emergency situations and potential military conflict conditions, as well as the investments needed to adapt healthcare infrastructure.
During the meeting, the Commissioner was introduced to strategic measures aimed at strengthening cooperation between civilian and military medicine. The Ministry of Health has approved a list of 23 strategically important hospitals which, together with the Emergency Medical Service and the National Blood Center, form the backbone of the country’s medical system. These institutions play a crucial role in ensuring continuity of state functions and meeting the needs of the population during crises.
Minister Jakubauskienė emphasized that lessons learned from the experiences of Ukraine and Israel clearly show that determination and courage help people survive during the first weeks of a crisis, but in the long term, resilience depends on infrastructure. Therefore, leadership is needed to change the perception of the healthcare sector’s role within the broader defence architecture.
“Investments in adapting hospitals to function under wartime conditions must be recognized as investments in dual-use infrastructure. A hospital that treats oncology patients in peacetime and receives hundreds of wounded people during a crisis is, by its nature, just as much a dual-use facility as a highway or a bridge. Such recognition would allow for broader implementation of the necessary investments,” she stated.
“A healthcare system and infrastructure prepared to function during crises, including military ones, is an integral part of Europe’s overall defence capability. Lithuania’s actions in learning from Ukraine’s experience on how to ensure healthcare institutions and medical personnel can operate under crisis conditions serve as a good example for other European Union countries on the Eastern Flank,” said Commissioner Kubilius.
The meeting also highlighted that the current funding architecture is insufficient to meet the growing needs of civil protection and healthcare system resilience. Therefore, a key objective is to ensure that European Union strategic documents and funding mechanisms clearly provide opportunities for healthcare infrastructure projects to access security and defence funding.
Following the discussions, the delegation visited the Emergency Department of Republican Vilnius University Hospital, where they were introduced firsthand to the institution’s practical preparedness measures and the infrastructure modernization needed to ensure smooth operations even under extraordinary circumstances.
Photo by P. Peleckis.