Sami often score slightly lower than the rest of Norway on questions about health and living conditions. It is not known why, and the Storting believes that the knowledge is “deficient”. Since 2023, the center for Sami health research (Saminor) has been researching Sami health, following an order from the Storting. But now the research can stop. It comes to light after the government presented proposals for the state budget for 2025. – Empty words – When important bodies do not receive the support they need, they are deprived of the opportunity to understand and improve the challenges they face. That’s what Anja Jernsletten says to news. She is deputy leader of the Sami youth organization Noereh. Deputy leader of the Sami youth organization Noereh. Photo: Vetle Mathiesen Knutsen / news – Politicians often talk about how important it is to support Norway’s indigenous population. But when the means do not reflect this, then they are just empty words. We need action, not just promises, she says. Saminor has completed the surveys in Innlandet, Trøndelag, Nordland and large parts of Troms. Until next year, Finnmark’s 18 municipalities remain. Almost half of all Sami in Norway live there. – Incredibly important In the government’s proposal for next year’s state budget, it is proposed that Saminor should receive NOK 13.5 million for the investigations. That is around a fifth of what they need to conduct research in all the municipalities in Norway’s northernmost county. There are approximately 9,000 Sami over the age of 18 living in Finnmark. There are approximately 20,500 Sami over the age of 18 living in the whole of Norway. news states that the figures are not exact, but the closest we can get is an estimate. Why don’t we know exactly? No one knows exactly how many Sami people live in Norway. Statistics are not kept and it is difficult to establish who is actually Sami. The closest we get to a “register” is the Sami Parliament’s number of electors. These can vote in Sami parliamentary elections, and to be in the census you must be Sami. The weakness of this is that people under the age of 18 are not allowed to register in the census, and no one is forced to register. In this article, news has obtained figures from the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll from 2021. This is the last year news has access to look at the various counties. In 2021, there were 20,545 eligible voters in the population, and 8,928 of these then lived in Finnmark. “Far from all Sámi are listed in the Sámi Parliament’s census. Estimates of how many Sami there are vary between 50,000 and 80,000 in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Most Sami people live in Norway”, wrote verkächt.no in an article from 2020. Saminor has previously researched Sami people and alcohol. Finish? Sami do not drink as often as others. NOT EVERYWHERE: Such investigations may not be everywhere in Finnmark since Saminor will not receive more funds from the state budget. Photo: Center for Sami health research – It is often in Finnmark that you see that a basic understanding of health and living conditions is needed. It is incredibly important, says Jernsletten. – Finnmark has a significant Sami population. The conditions there can be very different than in other parts of the country. Both when it comes to health challenges, but also access to health services, she adds. On Wednesday, Saminor received NOK 1 million from the Finnmark County Council. They are now asking the Storting to ensure that they are awarded the funds they have applied for. High proportion of diabetes Research manager for Saminor, Ann Ragnhild Broderstad, tells news that they have researched the health of the Sami twice before. They still cannot find the answer to why things are the way they are. Among other things, there are “very high” proportions of type 2 diabetes in the entire population, says Broderstad. How many with type 2 diabetes by sex, age and ethnicity. Graphics: FHI / Data: Saminor 2 She says that a high proportion of Sami women living in the districts have higher education. It is usually the case that higher education “protects” against unwanted events such as violence, says Broderstad. Many experience violence But in Sami societies it is not necessarily like this. Ten years ago, the figures came from Saminor 2’s investigations. They show grim findings. In the municipalities where the surveys were carried out, figures showed that up to half of Sami women and about a third of Norwegian women had experienced violence in close relationships, she says. – We do not find a lasting pattern in Saminor. compared to international studies. How it is now is now being investigated in Saminor 3, she says. – What we are wondering is whether we have local communities where violence is an accepted pattern of action. VIOLENCE AS CHILDREN: Sami children experience more emotional and physical violence than the rest of the population. Graphics: FHI / Data: Saminor 2 EXPERIENCED MORE VIOLENCE: Sami women have experienced more violence than non-Sami women. Graphics: FHI / Data Saminor 2 The figures in the tables are self-reported. news has taken them from the Institute of Public Health’s public health report. – Critical for the municipalities! – What happens if you are not allowed to go through all the municipalities in Finnmark? – We are unable to get any closer to a solution to the kind of phenomenon we are seeing. We are not going to find solutions to it. It’s that simple, says Broderstad. Research leader for the center for Sami health research (Saminor), Ann Ragnhild Broderstad. Photo: Center for Sami health research If Saminor is not allocated more money, they may be able to examine four out of a total of 18 municipalities in Finnmark. – Then the county of Finnmark will simply be “amputated”, she believes. They need around NOK 60 million to operate for one year. They had hoped to get 40 million from the state budget. She says it will be worrying if Finnmark is not part of the investigation. They are the only ones in the whole of Norway who can provide information about Sami health and living conditions, says Broderstad. – But primarily we do this on behalf of the Storting, the municipalities and the counties. So we will not be able to carry out what is our social mission. – We wonder a lot – Saminor is absolutely crucial for everyone who works with health in Sami communities and for national authorities. That is what the municipal manager in Kautokeino, Ánne Lájlá Westerfjell Kalstad, tells news. Municipal chief physician in Kautokeino, Ánne Lájlá Westerfjell Kalstad believes Saminor delivers important figures. Photo: André Bendixen / news – We need to have good figures on how the population’s health is in order to be able to work with health and introduce public health measures in Sami communities. Saminor has been absolutely decisive there. Now Kalstad risks not getting figures from Saminor’s survey to its municipality. She believes it would be a big loss and says Saminor’s figures are extremely important. – National health authorities need these figures to be able to put forward strategies and plans. – A lot of things we wonder about Kalstad says that in recent years there has been a very large investment in the health of immigrants in Norway. She does not see the same commitment to indigenous health. INVESTIGATIONS: Saminor has carried out surveys from Innlandet in the south to Troms in the north. Finnmark awaits next year, but how many municipalities they will go to is still uncertain. Photo: Press photo / Center for Sami health research – Saminor is a hugely important part of the work to promote the health of indigenous people in Norway. We have many questions that are still unanswered. She says they know little about women’s health, the consequences of Norwegianisation, the health consequences of loss of grazing land. – There is a lot we wonder about and we need Saminor to complete his investigations, she concludes. – Important source of research news has asked the Ministry of Health and Social Care several questions about this matter. This is what we asked: Why do they (Saminor) get so little for next year? It is the Storting that has initiated the investigation. Why then is it not prioritized in the budget? Broderstad says they can operate for 2-3 months if the grant proposed by the government comes into force. The consequence is that Finnmark will be the county you get the least information about (that’s where they will carry out research for next year), which is the core area for the Sami population. What does the ministry think about it? Do you consider the research carried out by the Saminor group to be important? This year, FHI has concluded that it is important to monitor that the differences in quality of life, for example suicide and loneliness, are important to monitor. Do we do that when we cut support for Sami health research? If money is not prioritized for Saminor’s research, how does the government ensure that it receives information about Sami, Kven and Norwegian Finns? State Secretary Usman Mushtag in the Ministry of Health and Care responds in a joint reply to e-mail that it is crucial to have knowledge about the health of the Sami population. – Knowledge of the Sami population’s health is crucial. Saminor 3 is a unique and important source of research and knowledge development about health and living conditions in areas with Sami, Norwegian and Swedish settlements. – Therefore, through the state budget for 2025, we have proposed to support the financing of Saminor 3 with NOK 13.5 million in 2025, which we understand is the last collection year. A total of NOK 65.5 million has been allocated to Saminor 3 over the state budget in the period 2023 to 2025. news informs that the municipal chief physician in Kautokeino, Ánne Lájlá Westerfjell Kalstad is the sister of the director of news Sápmi, Johan Ailo Kalstad. He has not worked on this case. Published 17.10.2024, at 06.07
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Sami have poorer health – Saminor 3 gets less money for research – news Sápmi
