The Arctic is a vast polar region comprising the northernmost parts of Canada, Norway, Greenland (Denmark), Sweden, Finland, the United States (Alaska), Iceland and Russia.
Several matters have risen surrounding the issues of poverty and global warming and their effects on indigenous people in this region.
Indigenous populations that were once largely self-sufficient and relatively food secure in the Arctic's harsh environment are today struggling to sustain themselves as a result of poverty and also the impacts of climate change[citation needed].
[5] The introduction of new diseases from whalers and explorers in addition to social unjust caused widespread death and disruption across Inuit populations in the Arctic.
[3] Poverty in the region has created challenges in indigenous communities in the form of lack of basic health care, low academic achievement, poor and crowded housing, concerns with water quality and high unemployment rates.
[3] The effects of climate change are disproportionate in the world's polar regions; temperatures are increasing twice as rapidly as the global average, and in the past few years there has been an extraordinary decrease in the amount of summer sea-ice cover.
[7] Climate change has contributed to food insecurity, poor health and disease, serious injury and the inability to practice traditional cultural activities.
[7][8] The reduction in permafrost, rising sea levels and coastal erosion is threatening the livelihood of indigenous settlements in the Arctic, compromising important heritage sites and impairing municipal infrastructure and water supply.
The disparity of Inuit settlements, high rates of unemployment and acculturative stresses have been significant contributing factors to food insecurity in the Arctic.
Inuit women lack basic knowledge of store food, affecting suitable choices they will make in order properly nourish their families.