Circumpolar health collaborations: a description of players and a call for further dialogue

Abstract

With international attention on health in ourcircumpolar regions, it is timely to review thestate of our community and our effectiveness inproviding the circumpolar voice, networking, research and action that the International Unionfor Circumpolar Health (IUCH) and emergingcircumpolar health organizations were designedto provide. Over the years a number of IUCHpresidents have written about the organization(1–3), agreeing that synergy is created throughthe cooperative union of many individual societieswherein the whole is greater than the sumof its parts. Over the past decade there hasbeen the development of multiple circumpolarhealth organizations both within and outside theIUCH structure. In times of limited resources, we should look at the current administrativeframeworks within our networks and considerthe potential for a more streamlined structure ofsupport for circumpolar health collaboration.