| Summary: | It is well documented that significant health differences exist among European countries.1 The most unfavourable situation is observed in Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway have initiated an EEA/Norway Grants program that aims to provide financial and expert support for tackling health inequalities by promoting physical and mental health in the beneficiary countries, and improving access to and quality of health care services.2 A EUR 184 million (USD 196 million) support package has been allocated to finance public health projects in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Lithuania. This letter focuses on the case of Lithuania. As mentioned, all Central and Eastern European countries face a problem with large socioeconomic inequalities in health; Lithuania is among those countries with the most unfavorable situation. The most recent data confirm that the main socioeconomic factors, (eg, education, occupational status, rural/urban place of residence) have a considerable impact on one’s health status.1 This situation has caused tackling health inequalities to become the priority issue on the Lithuanian public health policy agenda. To achieve a reduction in inequalities, Lithuania implemented the Development of a Model for the Strengthening of the Capacities to Identify and Reduce Health Inequalities project in 2014–2017, which was financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 Programme ‘‘Public Health Initiatives.’’[.].
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