A new Greenlandic healthcare agreement aims to facilitate access to healthcare services in Denmark for Greenland’s patients. The latest mutual framework agreement came after the Danish health minister’s recent visit to Greenland, intended to strengthen cooperation in the health sector.
Thousands of Greenlandic Inuit women will now be able to seek compensation for being forced to use intrauterine devices for birth control in the 1960s and 1970s – but not until late next year.
The deal was recently signed by Greenland’s health minister, Anna Wangenheim, and Danish health minister, Sophie Løhde (Renew).
Wangenheim stressed the opportunities to “strengthen staffing in our healthcare system, while at the same time improving the experience for Greenlandic patients who need to receive specialist treatment in Denmark.”
Market size, limiting
Currently, healthcare services vary widely across Greenland, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, facing unique challenges, particularly due to its vast, ice-covered territory.
Access to prescription medicines is limited; tourists are advised to bring their own. As Bodil Jensen, a communication consultant at the Greenlandic Health Service, explained to Euractiv, Greenland is a small market with a population of 56,000 people and challenging geographic conditions.
According to a report from the Greenlandic Health Councils, the country currently has 56 smaller health stations, 11 health centres, four regional hospitals and a national hospital, the Queen Ingrid’s Hospital in Nuuk. Residents mostly use a telemedicine app.
Specialised health personnel
Another challenge is the shortage of specialised health personnel. Of the 1,600 health workers, only 900 have permanent jobs. The rest are substitutes.
In 2024, the infant mortality in Greenland was much higher than in Denmark, 8,5 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 2,6 in Denmark. At the same time, a shortage of midwives has led to the closure of two out of five maternity wards, the report stated.
The rising costs for diabetes and obesity medicines, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, are also putting increasing pressure on healthcare budgets and patient access.
Patient transportation costs from small settlements to cities and from Greenland to Denmark are also increasing, costing between DKK 25,000 and DKK 500,000 per evacuation ( € 3,250 to € 65,000).
Greenlandic cancer patients also have almost twice the mortality risk compared to Danes, primarily due to late diagnosis and treatment, according to the Danish Ministry of Health and Interior. Minister Løhde now hopes to change this.
“It is important that Greenlandic cancer patients receive the best possible treatment so that their chances of successfully overcoming their illness are increased. That is why we must create the best possible conditions for Greenlandic patients who come to Denmark to receive radiation therapy or other forms of specialised treatment at Danish hospitals,” Løhde stated.
IUD compensation option
The Greenlandic cabinet is collaborating with the Danish Capital Region, where the Rigshospitalet, the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen, receives patients who cannot be treated in Greenland. There are also bilateral collaborations between departments at several of the region’s hospitals and the Greenlandic Health Service.
An upcoming health agreement will incorporate new and specific collaborations, meant to “ensure broad political support for the framework that will develop the health sector going forward”, Wangenheim stated.
More than a month ago, Løhde formally apologised to thousands of Greenlandic women who had been forced to carry intrauterine devices (spirals) inserted by Danish doctors to prevent pregnancy between 1966 and 1974. Some were as young as 12.
During her recent visit, Løhde announced that the Danish government is working to establish a reconciliation fund. It will provide individual financial compensation upon application. However, the compensation scheme has to be established by law in Denmark, which means it will likely not be implemented until the second half of 2026, causing scepticism in Greenland about whether these were empty promises.
The new health care agreement builds on a mutual financial agreement in September this year, in which Denmark promised to allocate € 210 million (DKK 1,6 billion) from 2026 to 2029 to support Greenlandic infrastructure projects and other initiatives, as well as covering the costs for Greenlandic patients who need care in Denmark.
[VA, BM]
