The Nordic public health preparedness agreement (Nordhel) (2002) applies to co-operation between the public health and social service authorities in the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It strengthens the capacity for Host Nation Support and ensures access to relevant and quality-assured information. It also triggered the drafting of procedures for offering and receiving assistance as well as systematic learning from exercises and past events. The agreement also entails collaboration between the social services regarding crisis management and the social service’s relation to healthcare.

Nordhel is integrated in the legal system in the Nordic countries as part of the overall Nordic Cooperation and is complementary to the bilateral agreements between the Nordic countries and the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and other EU legal texts. It is also complementary to EU legal frameworks such as the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) and the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS).

In terms of hazards, Nordhel takes an all-hazards approach but it is particularly relevant to emergencies and disasters, such as natural disasters, accidents and acts of terror involving, for instance, radioactive emissions, biological substances and chemical substances. Nordhel covers both the preparedness and the response phases of Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

The agreement is particularly relevant in emergencies where assistance is not covered by other European and Nordic multilateral and bilateral agreements. Politically, it is perceived as complementary.

Nordhel has a lean governance structure and is chaired by the country chairing the Nordic Council of Ministers. Moreover, the so called Svalbard Group is a co-operative body for the authorities that are party to the Agreement. The Group’s activities are in the fields of emergency planning, crisis and risk management, risk reduction, risk assessment, risk analysis, risk evaluation, prevention, emergency response, reconstruction, and evaluation. 

Nordhel has the potential to trigger other relevant initiatives in its framework such as the Nordic Mass Burn Casualty Incident Response Plan and the Nordic Mechanism for Sharing Situation Awareness in Health and Social care. 

Overall, Nordhel is an excellent basis for cooperation in public health preparedness between Nordic countries. It contributes to a stronger and more integrated Nordic region. There are several relevant initiatives in the Nordic Region which build upon Nordhel. 

Nordhel has been recognised as one of the directions for deepening cooperation in the field of security of supply and preparedness which followed the pandemic.

The agreement is an excellent example of a cooperation framework and is highly replicable in other European border territories.