Interim Report WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health

"Building a global movement for health equity. Health is a universal human aspiration and a basic human need. The development of society, rich or poor, can be judged by the quality of its population’s health, how fairly health is distributed across the social spectrum, and the degree of protection provided from disadvantage as a result of ill-health. Health equity is central to this premise and to the work of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. " Forward Interim Report (page 3)

The World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health has just published its interim report.

The final report is out next year 2008.

Of interest to HIA practioners is the creation of 9 thematic Knowledge Networks by the Commission to collect, collate and synthesise a diverse range of evidence on:

a) plausible causal relations
b) key areas in which action should take place
c) effective practices and interventions

for addressing socially determined health inequities globally.

The themes of the Knowledge Networks are:

1. Globalisation
2. Health systems
3. Urban settings
4. Employment and working conditions
5. Early child development
6. Social exclusion
7. Women and gender equity
8. Measurement and evidence
9. Priority public health conditions

The interim report outlines the keys issues and evidence that the Commission has collated to date.

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Main website http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en

To get regular updates of the work of the Commission sign up at:

http://www.who.int/social_determinants/contact/en/index.html

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