Add us as your preferred source on Google to see more of our content in Search.
Add to Preferred SourcesWHO’s first-ever Health Equity Status Report reveals that health inequities in many of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region remain either the same or have worsened despite governments’ attempts to address them. The Report newly identifies 5 key risk factors that are holding many children, young people, women and men back from achieving good health and leading safe and decent lives.
“For the first time, the Health Equity Status Report provides governments with the data and tools they need to tackle health inequities and produce visible results in a relatively short period of time, even within the lifetime of a national government of 4 years,” says Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
The range of policies outlined in the Report stimulates both sustainable development and economic growth. Reducing inequities by 50% would produce financial benefits to countries ranging from 0.3% to 4.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the report finds.
The Health Equity Status Report also identifies new and emerging groups at risk of falling into health inequity. These include, for instance, young people who leave school early – these individuals are at greater risk of mental health issues and poverty due to insecure labour markets and higher exposure to frequent periods of unemployment.
Those living with an illness that limits their daily activities are disproportionately represented in the least affluent 20%. Life-limiting illness reduces their ability to stay in the labour market and increases their risk of poverty and social exclusion. This massive loss of human potential has an impact on countries’ fiscal sustainability through lost tax income and pensions and increased social welfare costs.
For the first time, the Health Equity Status Report captures the impact of policies to address these risks over the last 10 to 15 years. It finds that many of the critical factors that are driving health inequities are not being sufficiently addressed by countries across the European Region. For example, while 29% of health inequities stem from precarious living conditions, 53% of countries in the Region have disinvested in housing and community services in the last 15 years.
Read and download the Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report.
Original source: WHO
Published on 10 September 2019