The Greenlandic settlement of Kapisillit has no defibrillator — which, given it is only accessible via a two-hour boat ride or by helicopter, means that if you go into cardiac arrest while there, you could be in real trouble.
“It would be too late” by the time help arrives, village leader Heidi Nolso — who is fighting to bring in the much-needed medical device for the 35 inhabitants — told AFP.
The situation facing Kapisillit underscores the challenges to the healthcare system in the vast Arctic island, recently called out by US President Donald Trump.
On Saturday Trump — who has backed off threats to seize the autonomous Danish territory, but still insists it must come under US control for security reasons — proposed sending a “great hospital boat” to Greenland.
It would provide care to the “many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there”.
The proposal was soundly rejected by Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nelson and by Copenhagen, both touting Greenland’s free public healthcare system.
Nevertheless, Trump’s statements touched “a sensitive nerve,” Greenland’s Health Minister Anna Wangenheim acknowledged in a post to Facebook.
“Many citizens have experienced that serious illness means long and difficult journeys away from family and home,” she said — though she added that such “structural challenges are not solved by isolated, symbolic initiatives from the outside.”
There are five regional hospitals across Greenland, which is home to just 57,000 people but is roughly the size of western Europe. The hospital in the capital Nuuk serves patients from all over the territory.
But for the 35 residents of Kapisillit, getting to that care is an obstacle course.
The village does have a medical office — but it has stood empty for months due to lack of staff, and traveling to receive care elsewhere is expensive.
A trip to Nuuk on the weekly shuttle costs over $100, and the average price for a night in a hotel in the capital is in the same range.
The lack of regular check-ups means that diseases such as cancers — the leading cause of mortality in Greenland — are often detected late.
Nolso, who suffers from high blood pressure, does her own medical follow-ups.
“I know that I should have blood samples taken, but no one is checking up on me,” the leader, who is in her 40s, said.
– Rifles to prevent rabies –
Kaaleeraq Ringsted, the catechist of the tiny parish, lives alone at 74.
His teeth are in very poor condition and, as he ages, he knows the risk of cancer and other diseases is increasing.
Doctor consultations only take place via online video calls. Those who don’t have internet access make use of the small town hall.
Once a year, a dentist comes to visit, but many dental procedures are not covered by the universal healthcare.
Wangenheim says one of the primary challenges is the “recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals”.
For Nolso, the requirement to master Danish in order to work in the healthcare system makes it harder for foreign doctors to come and help make up for the shortfall.
The problems are compounded by an exodus towards cities by young people, leaving remote settlements such as Kapisillit disproportionately populated by older people.
Wangenheim has conceded there is a “significant backlog in Greenland’s healthcare system,” estimated at about one billion kroner ($158 million).
The island “needs long-term capacity building, stronger local services, and investments that reduce inequality” in relation to Denmark, she said.
Official statistics show that life expectancy on the Arctic island is 69.6 years for men and 73.5 for women — far lower than in Denmark, where people on average live 10 years longer.
But Wangenheim also said that funding has been secured for those improvements, and work is “well underway”.
In the meantime, residents of villages such as Kapisillit do what they can to prevent disease.
In a village where nature and the outdoors form the backbone of daily life, for example, few people are vaccinated against rabies.
Instead, residents walk around with rifles, ready to shoot any wildlife exhibiting odd behaviour.
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