John Arthur Hildes Circumpolar Health Awards

Abstract

Since 1987, the Hildes medal has been awarded at each International Congress on Circumpolar Health to distinguished individuals nominated by the adhering bodies of the International Union for Circumpolar Health. Since 1987, a total of twenty researchers and health workers from Alaska, Canada, the Nordic countries and Russia have received this award. Between them, the recipients share an unsurpasssed volume of knowledge and experience about the Arctic. The editors ofthe Journal have asked the Hildes medal awardees to share some of their experiences with the readers and, in this issue, we are happy to publish the first article in the series. Bent Harvald and Inge Lynge from Denmark, who received the Hildes award in 1987 and 2000, respectively, have chosen to write the history of the Nordic Council for Arctic Medical Research, an organization that was active in the creation of the International Union for Circumpolar Health and whose report series was the immediate precursor of the journal.