Greenland’s government has highlighted the need to strengthen its health system and recruit foreign healthcare professionals following a statement from US President Donald Trump suggesting patients in the territory are not receiving adequate care. On 22 February, Trump posted on Truth Social that he planned to send a hospital ship to Greenland “to take care of the many people who are sick and not being taken care of there.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen rejected the offer, stressing that the country provides free healthcare for all residents, a service the United States cannot replicate. Yet Trump’s comments reflect ongoing challenges in staffing Greenland’s healthcare sector.

The territory has long struggled to recruit and retain medical professionals. In response, the government has introduced measures to ease residence permits for foreign healthcare workers. Anna Wangenheim, Minister of Health and Persons with Disabilities, stated on Facebook that Greenland is actively working to strengthen its healthcare system and is seeking more international professionals. She added that help from any country, including the United States, would be welcome if healthcare workers respect local patients, language, and culture.

Greenland, home to more than 56,000 people as of January 2026, is the world’s least densely populated territory. Around 20,000 live in the capital, Nuuk, while the rest reside in scattered towns and settlements, presenting unique logistical challenges for healthcare delivery.

The territory’s health burden remains high. In 2023, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 residents stood at 38,715, higher than Denmark’s 30,931 and the European average of 36,863. About 1.5% of the population had cancer and nearly 19% suffered from mental health disorders, both above EU averages. Life expectancy also lags behind Europe, with newborn boys expected to live 69.3 years and girls 73.9 years, compared with the European average of 81.7 years.

Greenland’s health system operates across 70 locations with roughly 120 medical positions—only half of which are permanent—and 300 nursing roles, two-thirds permanent. Services are divided into five regions, each served by a regional hospital, with Queen Ingrid’s Hospital in Nuuk acting as both a regional and national facility. More advanced procedures, such as radiotherapy or invasive cardiology, require travel to Denmark.

Telemedicine has helped bridge geographic gaps. Hansen, a medical advisor at Greenland’s Department of Health, noted that skin diseases can now be diagnosed remotely with support from Denmark. In 2023, the territory launched the app Puisa to provide secure video consultations for residents in remote areas, reducing the need for long travel.

While Greenland’s healthcare system covers basic medical needs, officials acknowledge that infrastructure and staffing limits restrict the delivery of specialized treatments locally. The government continues to seek international staff to enhance services and meet the challenges of a dispersed population.

In Poland, vasectomy is emerging as a more popular method of permanent contraception among men, while female tubal ligation remains illegal on request. The trend comes amid growing concern over the country’s declining fertility rates and shifting attitudes toward family planning.

The State of the Young 2025 report found that 15 percent of adults born between 1995 and 2006 have no children and do not intend to have any. While permanent contraception options for men are increasingly sought, women in Poland have no equivalent choice: tubal ligation is prohibited except for strict medical reasons, and performing it on request can carry prison sentences of three to 20 years under Article 156-1 of the Penal Code.

Statistics on vasectomy in Poland are limited, as most procedures are carried out privately. It is estimated that around 5,000 vasectomies take place annually, with clinics advertising the services online and on roadside billboards. Mateusz Siwik, owner of a Warsaw clinic, told Euronews Health that interest in the procedure has been steadily growing, with year-on-year increases of around 15 percent. He said patients are socially diverse but often men in stable relationships with two or more children who have consciously decided to end family expansion.

One example is Kamil Pawelski, a psychologist and influencer who underwent vasectomy in 2020 after the birth of his second child. Pawelski said the decision was motivated by concern for his wife’s health and their mutual decision not to have more children. He noted that public reactions were mixed, with more criticism coming from men than women. “I think this is a very masculine decision,” he said, stressing that the procedure is only suitable for those certain about not having future children.

The restriction on female sterilisation has contributed to medical tourism, with Poles travelling to Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia for tubal ligation. Rafał Zadykowicz, an obstetrics and gynaecology specialist, said foreign gynaecologists are often surprised by the strict legal limits in Poland, where access is limited to medical necessity.

Vasectomy is increasingly preferred across Europe and North America due to its relative simplicity and low invasiveness. France has seen vasectomies rise from 1,940 in 2010 to over 30,000 in 2022, especially among men under 40. In Canada, 22 percent of women rely on their partner’s vasectomy, while rates in the UK, New Zealand, and South Korea range from 17 to 21 percent. In contrast, Italy sees only around 1 percent of men undergoing the procedure. No official figures exist for Poland, but interest is clearly rising.

Poland faces some of the lowest fertility rates globally. The total fertility rate fell to an estimated 1.10 children per woman in 2025, leaving the population at 37.3 million. Within the OECD, Poland ranks third from last, ahead of only Chile and South Korea. Social policy programmes offering financial support for children have been in place since 2016, but debates continue over why many young adults choose not to have children despite the incentives.

Young adults across the world are struggling with worsening mental health and daily life challenges, with the sharpest declines seen in wealthier nations, according to a new report by Sapien Labs.

The United States-based non-profit assessed mental well-being through its Mind Health Quotient (MHQ), a measure of emotional, social, cognitive and physical capacities needed to function effectively in life, work and relationships. The findings are based on online surveys conducted across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

The study shows a clear generational divide. Adults aged 55 and older have maintained an average MHQ score of around 100 since measurements began in 2019, reflecting what researchers consider a normal population range. By contrast, young adults aged 18 to 34 recorded an average score of just 36. Around 41 per cent of respondents in that age group reported significant mental health challenges.

Tara Thiagarajan, founder and chief scientist of Sapien Labs and lead author of the report, said the crisis extends beyond rising diagnoses of depression and anxiety. She described it as a progressive generational decline that worsened sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not reversed.

Young people in Europe ranked poorly compared with peers on other continents. Several European countries were among the lowest performers in the survey of 84 nations. Italy was the highest-ranked European country at 20th place. Finland ranked 40th, while Portugal and Spain were joint 46th. Belgium stood at 52 and France at 58. Near the bottom were Ireland at 70, Germany at 71 and the United Kingdom at 81.

In contrast, young people in sub-Saharan Africa recorded stronger outcomes despite living in the region with the lowest per capita income globally. Researchers said the decline among younger generations appears most severe in developed economies, even though spending on mental health services has increased.

The report identified four main drivers of poor mental health among young adults: weak family bonds, low levels of spirituality, early smartphone access and high consumption of ultra-processed foods. Respondents who reported poor family relationships were nearly four times more likely to fall into distressed categories. Those who described themselves as spiritual or connected to a higher power tended to perform better on the MHQ scale.

Early smartphone use was also linked to poorer outcomes later in life. Among Generation Z, the average age of receiving a first smartphone was 14, with European averages between 12 and 13 years.

The study also linked rising consumption of ultra-processed foods over the past 15 years to between 15 and 30 per cent of the overall mental health burden.

Researchers concluded that addressing environmental and social factors shaping young lives may be as important as expanding treatment services.