Reducing health inequities through action on the social determinants of health

WHO 124th Session EB124.R6 - Agenda item 4.6 - 23 January 2009

WHO Executive Board, Having considered the Secretariat’s report on the final report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health,1
RECOMMENDS to the Sixty-second World Health Assembly the adoption of the following resolution:

Spanish: http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB124/B124_R6-sp.pdf

English: http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB124/B124_R6-en.pdf

French: http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB124/B124_R6-fr.pdf

“………Confirming the importance of addressing the wider determinants of health and considering the actions and recommendations set out in the series of international health promotion conferences, from the Ottawa Charter on Health Promotion to the Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World making the promotion of health central to the global development agenda as a core responsibility of all governments (resolution WHA60.24);

“……..URGES Member States:

(1) to develop and implement goals and strategies to improve public health with a focus on health inequities;
(2) to take into account health equity in all national policies that address social determinants of health and to ensure equitable access to health promotion, disease prevention and health care;
(3) to ensure dialogue and cooperation among relevant sectors with the aim of integrating a consideration of health into relevant public policies;
(4) to increase awareness among public and private health providers on how to take account of social determinants when delivering care to their patients;
(5) to contribute to the improvement of the daily living conditions contributing to health and social well-being across the lifespan by involving all relevant partners, including civil society and the private sector;
(6) to contribute to the empowerment of individuals and groups, especially those who are marginalized, and take steps to improve the societal conditions that affect their health;
(7) to generate new, or make use of existing, methods and evidence, tailored to national contexts in order to address the social determinants and social gradients of health and health inequities;
(8) to develop, make use of, and if necessary, improve health information systems in order to monitor and measure the health of national populations, with data disaggregated according to the major social determinants in each context (such as age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment and socioeconomic status) so that health inequities can be detected and the impact of policies monitored in order to devise appropriate policy interventions to minimize health inequities ……..”

Eugenio Villar, Coordinator
Department of Ethics, Equity, Trade and Human Rights (ETH)
Information Evidence and Research (IER) World Health Organization