Accelerating Indigenous health and wellbeing: the Lancet Commission on Arctic and Northern Health

Abstract

Arctic Indigenous communities and adjacent Indigenous peoples considered Northern or Circumpolar in distribution recognised the threat posed by COVID-19 to their communities. Despite inhabiting many of the world's most resourced countries, the health of Arctic Indigenous peoples lags behind their non-Indigenous counterparts across many indicators,1,2 and many communities remember the devastating consequences of the 1918–19 influenza pandemic on their communities.3 Swift action by Arctic Indigenous leaders limited COVID-19 cases in many communities, protecting their vulnerable groups from the worst outcomes seen in some other Indigenous communities globally.