ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights some key challenges to health and wellbeing in the Barents Region. The purpose of this assessment is to highlight several of the specific and distinct health security risks that face the Barents population. Regional and transboundary pollution represents other sources of health insecurity in the Barents Region. In order to strengthen health and wellbeing in the Barents Region, a working group on health and social issues has also been created under the auspices of the Barents cooperation. New zoonotic diseases may emerge in the Barents Region in the future. The Arctic-Barents Region possesses a unique climate and a specific environment, where access to health care in remote areas can be difficult and affect the wellbeing of its population. The Arctic, including the Barents, is contaminated by chemicals released as a result of both human activities and natural processes. The presence of, and risk posed by, antibiotic resistant microbes in the Arctic are increasing.
