[EQ] WHO report calls for global action to ensure health equity within and between countries

Editorial

Tackling health inequities

WHO report calls for global action to ensure health equity within and between countries

 

George Davey Smith and Nancy Krieger
BMJ 2008;337:a1526, doi: 10.1136/bmj.a1526 - Published 3 September 2008

 

Available online

 

“…..Finally, an official report on health inequity has been published that has the honesty and courage to say that "social injustice is killing people on a grand scale."1 The report of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health synthesises evidence from a large and disparate range of sources, while recognising that what constitutes evidence is itself contested and not value free.2 It presents a wealth of data to show the unquestionable link between economic, social, and bodily wellbeing—within and across countries. In the case of life expectancy, these embodied facts of social inequity3 can span the equivalent of a lifetime: women born in Botswana can anticipate living an average of 43 years, half that of the 86 years for women in Japan; between the poorest and most affluent parts of Glasgow life expectancy in men ranges from 54 to 82 years.

 

Many official reports have documented social inequalities in health over the past 170 years, from Chadwick4 to Sachs.5 Yet, in contrast to these reports, which subtly (and not so subtly) emphasised the detrimental effects of poor health induced by poverty on economic performance,6 the commission firmly draws the arrow of causality from impoverished environments to ill health, something that is clear to most of the world’s population (if not to some economists).

 

The ability of this report to make these conclusions rests on its unprecedented broad scope—unlike many other reports that have focused on one country or on groups of countries at similar economic levels, the commission has produced a global picture of economic and social deprivation that makes it impossible not to recognise the importance of economic redistribution, health care, and the direct material consequences of poverty and social inequality across the life course on health. …”

 

The Lancet 2008; 372:689 - DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61282-9

Editorial

Addressing the inequities in health: a new and vital mandate

The Lancet,  Volume 372, Number 9640, 30 August 2008

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673608612829/fulltext

 

“…..The Commission talks unashamedly about social justice, a phrase that is used more by politicians than health professionals. But the inequities and inequalities in health that exist today must surely prick the concern and conscience of every physician. The problem for most doctors is likely to be the twin feelings of hopelessness and impotence at the sheer scale of the difficulty they face. Those feelings often translate into paralysis. The Commission's most refreshing conclusion is that hopelessness, impotence, and paralysis can be overcome by optimism, vigour, and muscular policy responses. Why? Because the evidence already shows that much can be achieved to reduce inequity and inequality….”

 

 

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