[EQ] Global action on social determinants of health

Global action on social determinants of health

Michael Marmot

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London,  England.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization October 2011;89:702-702. doi: 10.2471/BLT.11.094862

Available online at: http://bit.ly/onSHJx

 

“…..Closing the gap in a generation is a rousing call.1 Did the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) really believe it to be possible? Technically, certainly. Yes, there is a greater than 40-year spread in life expectancy among countries and dramatic social gradients in health within countries. But the evidence suggests that we can make great progress towards closing the health gap by improving, as the CSDH put it, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.

 

These include ensuring: equity for every child from the start, healthier environments, fair employment and decent work, social protection across the life course and universal health care. To make such progress, we must also deal with inequity in power, money and resources – the social injustice that is killing on a grand scale. At a more fundamental level, our vision is to create the conditions so that every person may enjoy the freedoms that lead to improved health – what we call empowerment.

 

In the three years since Closing the gap in a generation was published, there is no question that there is much to make us gloomy: the global financial crisis and the steps put in place to deal with it have worse impacts on the poor and relatively disadvantaged; the persistence of bad governance nationally and globally; climate change and inequitable measures for mitigation and adaptation and, in many countries, an increase in health inequity….”

 

 

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[EQ] Social determinants of health: practical solutions to deal with a well-recognized issue

Social determinants of health: practical solutions to deal with a well-recognized issue

Rüdiger Krech -  Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2011;89:703-703. doi: 10.2471/BLT.11.094870

Available online at: http://bit.ly/mTvy7F

“…..The call on governments to address the major challenge of health inequities which are determined by the social conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, is not new. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health worked on this. Its report re-enforces the message from the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, which itself was strongly rooted in the commitments made at the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Alma-Ata in 1978.1,2

 

The thinking behind the Alma-Ata Declaration, of course, dates back much further. Public health pioneers, such as Rudolf Virchow, Robert Koch and Oswaldo Cruz, had an in-depth knowledge of how social inequities relate to health outcomes.3 Robert Koch, for instance, devoted a key part of his Nobel Laureate speech in 1905 to the issue.4 And Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General of the World Health Organization, asserted in 1949 that “the death rate from pulmonary tuberculosis is now everywhere accepted as a sensitive index to the social state of a community.”5

 

Today, we know that this statement is not only true for tuberculosis but also for noncommunicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Reflecting that socio-cultural context is key to public health, the mandate for the World Health Organization to assist Member States in addressing the “causes of the causes” of ill-health is firmly rooted in its constitution.4….”

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
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“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
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[EQ] Action on social determinants of health is essential to tackle noncommunicable diseases

Action on social determinants of health is essential to tackle noncommunicable diseases

Kumanan Rasanathan & Rüdiger Krech  
Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights, World Health Organization, Geneva 1, Switzerland.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization October 2011;89:775-776. doi: 10.2471/BLT.11.094243

Available online at: http://bit.ly/nIxOak

 

“…..Noncommunicable diseases cannot be effectively addressed without action on social determinants of health. Without addressing social inequalities and the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, along with the reasons that health systems work better for some population groups than for others – that is, adopting a social determinants approach – prospects for reversing the noncommunicable diseases epidemics are poor.1

 

This year’s United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (in New York) and the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health (in Rio de Janeiro) provide a unique opportunity for progress.

There may never be a better global platform for countries, civil society and international organizations to commit to a coherent social determinants approach to tackling noncommunicable diseases and other global priorities at local, national and global levels. In this context, we explain why a social determinants approach is essential for combating noncommunicable diseases, discuss what such an approach entails, and identify priority actions for the global community…”

 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
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