This is how Sweden will save the shortage of raw materials in emergency healthcare

In a new partial report, the authorities point out four areas where the vulnerability is particularly high: infusion and injection fluids, medical gases, medical devices made of polymeric materials and personal protective equipment.

It is about things that healthcare cannot do without – drips, oxygen and plastic and rubber consumables. But Sweden's own manufacturing capacity is limited, while the dependence on foreign raw materials, active substances and packaging materials is high.

- For the manufacture of medicines, various raw materials and packaging materials are required, where we are completely dependent on access from the outside world. So that's the biggest challenge when imports stop, says Tina Crafoord, director at the Swedish Medicines Agency.

The report states that full self-sufficiency is not a realistic goal. Instead, the authorities see a need to build up stocks of both finished products in healthcare and consumables at manufacturers to create a buffer when supply chains are broken.

According to Tina Crafoord, it is also the most realistic route.

- The intuitive feeling may be that we should manufacture ourselves so as not to be dependent on others. The problem is that we are also then dependent on raw materials for manufacturing. That's why we need stock, also of raw materials, she says.

The background to the current situation is that Sweden has for a long time been spared from acute supply crises and therefore has not built up emergency stocks to the extent that is now deemed necessary.

The Swedish Medicines Agency already has a central role in securing access to medicines that are no longer manufactured in Sweden. But inventory is only part of the solution, according to the pharmaceutical industry.

- Supply readiness is not just about stocks. We also need a Sweden where it is attractive to invest in, produce and develop pharmaceuticals. In the geopolitical situation we have now, a competitive pharmaceutical industry is part of our resilience, says Bengt Mattsson from the industry organization Lif.

He also emphasizes that regions and hospitals must have larger margins than today and be able to cope with disruptions without being completely dependent on new supplies.

At the same time, the requirements are tightened at the local level. From 1 January 2027, regions and municipalities will be obliged to have turnover stocks corresponding to one month's normal consumption.

According to the National Board of Health and Welfare, it is necessary to buy care time when supplies are disrupted.

- Those layers should give care endurance in the event of disruptions and bridge the time until other measures take effect. But we can't stockpile ourselves through all crises - that's why stockpiling needs to be combined with robust supply chains and an ability to increase or adjust production in Sweden, says Klara Diskay, head of unit at the National Board of Health and Welfare.

She also emphasizes that Swedish production is not enough if access to input goods is lacking.

- If we are to have real manufacturing readiness, we also need to ensure access to the input goods required for production to actually function in a crisis or, ultimately, war, she says.