the health care system is obligated to deliver equal care to all citizens regardless of their place of residence this requires a large number of small costeffective health centres capable of providing acute care because the expenses for transport of patients and staff are very high due to their small size and isolation towns and villages in greenland often need to be selfsufficient and are very vulnerable to external factors no private providers of health care services exist in greenland but private dental care physiotherapy psychotherapy and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse are available in nuuk in the past perinatal complications acute and chronic infectious diseases and injuries dominated as the leading causes of morbidity recently chronic and lifestyle diseases and disabilities dominate morbidity concerns despite the fact that the old diseases have not decreased to the same low levels found in western countries