site.btaCouncil of Ministers to Review 2024 Health Report and Approve New Measures

The Council of Ministers will review the 2024 Annual Health Report and the National Health Strategy 2030 at its meeting on Wednesday, the government press service said.

The discussion comes against the backdrop of an online survey conducted in February–March 2025 among 27,000 respondents in 22 countries, including 1,000 in Bulgaria, which shows that Bulgaria ranks significantly below average in healthy living indicators. According to Stefan Dinev from the pharmaceutical company that commissioned the survey, fewer than half of Bulgarians report maintaining a healthy lifestyle, 37% have never undergone a preventive check-up, and trust in the national health system is lower than the European average.

The government’s agenda also includes the free provision of personal protective equipment from the state reserve to 56 municipalities, the adoption of a Coordination Mechanism for Assistance and Support to Victims of Domestic Violence, and the approval of a National Programme for Preventing and Countering Human Trafficking and Protecting Victims in 2025. The cabinet will vote on providing humanitarian and development aid in the form of voluntary contributions to international organizations amounting to BGN 2.3 million.

The Council of Ministers will further consider the opening of a Bulgarian consulate in Trieste, Italy, headed by an honorary (non-staff) consular officer with jurisdiction over the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, and is expected to appoint Valentina Shoshkova to the post. The government will also discuss supplementary transfers to municipal budgets in 2025 to pay additional remuneration for performance during the 2024–2025 academic year to heads of municipal kindergartens, schools, centres for personal development support and centres for special educational support, as well as extra transfers for scholarships and activities under national programmes.