At the latest Health Work group meeting members discussed the implementation of five pilot projects in 2021: Oncology data registry, Digital health strategy, Secondary use of health and social data, Health Data Summit and Value based healthcare approach. Members also discussed speakers and topics for upcoming work group meetings and agreed to invite the AmCham EU Healthcare committee to share best practices.

On April 7, AmCham Healthcare working group held an introductory meeting with Aris Kasparans, Director of the National Health Service of Latvia to inform him about the healthcare projects conducted and to hear about the future priorities of NHS.

AmCham Latvia took part in a live event "Global Human Capital Talks" held by AmCham Ukraine and Deloitte Ukraine on the topic of upskilling, main challenges for Latvian business in the area of human capital and main human capital trends in 2021. Joning as experts were Renate Strazdina, Country Manager Baltics of Microsoft and Zane Culkstena, CEO of ERDA who shared their views on top required skills currently and tomorrow, different skilling programs and the importance of partnership among public and private sector as well as with universities. Revisit the discussion HERE!

On March 11, AmCham held its 28th Annual General Meeting to review the past year’s activities, elect the Board of Directors and make other important decisions for the business continuity. U.S. Ambassador Carwile opened the meeting with remarks focusing on the priorities of the new administration and the U.S. response to the pandemic. During the breakout sessions, members discussed advocacy priorities, U.S.-Latvia business ties and how to add value and provide networking opportunities in the virtual environment. In 2021 AmCham will focus on the following policy priorities: 1) Enhancing trade and investment and continuously raising awareness of economic opportunities between Latvia and the U.S., 2) Improving the investment and business climate in Latvia, 3) Getting prepared for the future of work and 4) Improving health outcomes of Latvia’s society. 

On March 26, members had a unique opportunity to engage in an online discussion on the development and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines with Professor Kaspars Tars, Senior Researcher at the Biomedical Research and Study Center of Latvia. Professor Tars gave an in-depth presentation on different vaccine types, how they work and their efficacy against new variants.