The solution to the healthcare system's challenges is not isolated symbolic initiatives from outside.
This is what naalakkersuisoq for health, Anna Wangenheim (D), says in a post on Facebook regarding Donald Trump's announcement to send "a fantastic hospital ship" to Greenland.
First of all, she states that she has not been in contact with American authorities about a hospital ship, and then she acknowledges that the healthcare system in Greenland is challenged, where recruitment and retention of healthcare personnel play a major role.
200 million annually from Denmark
She emphasizes that the Greenland Government entered into a framework agreement with the Danish state in the autumn, which will boost the health sector by 200 million DKK annually, in addition to the 1.7 billion DKK that is annually allocated to the sector from the national treasury.
She writes that Trump's announcement hits a sensitive point:
- Many citizens have experienced that serious illness means long and stressful journeys away from family and home. But the solution to structural challenges is not isolated, symbolic initiatives from outside, she emphasizes.
Welcome to see effective efforts
Wangenheim also offers a small hint to the US president, highlighting that the Greenlandic health authorities took care of a crew member who needed urgent treatment over the weekend:
- The president is welcome to see how effective efforts an American citizen recently received in connection with an emergency evacuation carried out by AKO (Arctic Command) in close cooperation with the Greenlandic health service, writes Anna Wangenheim and continues:
- It shows that despite great distances, we can deliver a strong emergency response when it really matters.
Wangenheim further writes that Greenland needs lasting capacity building, stronger local services and investments that reduce inequality in the realm.
- The funding is in place. And the work of translating them into concrete improvements for citizens is in full swing.
