Kenneth Glad
Greenlandic officials have criticized a visiting U.S. delegation, saying an American doctor sought information about the territory’s health system without going through official government channels.
Health care has become part of a wider political dispute, as American comments about medical access in Greenland have collided with concerns over sovereignty and respect for local institutions.
According to Danish national broadcasater DR, Joseph Griffin joined U.S. special envoy Jeff Landry and U.S. ambassador Ken Howery during the visit. TV 2 quoted Griffin as saying he wanted to learn how health care is practiced in Greenland.
The visit comes amid President Donald Trump’s repeated statements about wanting U.S. control of Greenland.
Greenland’s health minister, Anna Wangenheim, objected in a statement cited by DR:
“A society with great distances, a chronic shortage of health personnel and demographic development that puts pressure on the system makes us vulnerable. And precisely therefore it is deeply problematic when people with a political mission to make Greenland part of the U.S. send a so-called ‘volunteer doctor’ to Nuuk to assess our needs.”
A rejected offer
The current criticism follows an earlier clash over a U.S. hospital ship. In February,
DR reported that Trump said he and Landry wanted to send a “fantastic hospital ship” to Greenland to help sick residents.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s head of government, dismissed the proposal in a Facebook post, writing, in translation: “Thanks, but no thanks from us.”
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Landry responded sharply, telling Nielsen: “Shame on you, head of government Jens-Frederik Nielsen!”
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Health care tensions
That earlier exchange helps explain why Greenlandic officials are sensitive to American attempts to assess health needs, especially when those efforts do not go through official channels.
Nielsen said health discussions should be handled through public institutions.:
“I have encouraged that such dialogue and such information be taken directly with the authorities instead of from individual people who have nothing to do with official Greenland.”
DR also quoted Kjeld Møller Pedersen, a professor emeritus of economics who has studied Greenland’s health system, as saying Trump’s claim that many sick Greenlanders go untreated was “misleading.”
Pedersen said the real strain comes from persistent staffing shortages and short-term recruitment.
Nielsen has said Greenland does not claim to have a perfect health or welfare system, but that its government is working to improve services and has strengthened health cooperation with Denmark.
Sources: DR, TV2.
