The newly established commission, chaired by Sir Michael Marmot, will work toward reducing health inequalities by analyzing data, documenting actions, offering practical recommendations, providing strategic guidance, and strengthening capacity.
The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research has worked with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Institute of Health Equity at University College London to establish a new Commission on Social Determinants of Health focusing on the region. The Commission, chaired by Sir Michael Marmot and comprised of experts from both the region and around the world, will look at how to achieve health equity in a region that experiences huge disparities in health outcomes – both between and among Member States.
Using a systems lens is key to advancing health equity, which is one of the reasons the Alliance is supporting this important initiative. Health and wellbeing go beyond ensuring the six building blocks of a health system are in place. A number of factors intersect in different ways, including the environment in which people live, personal characteristics and ways of living – all of which can be exacerbated by conflict and climate change, critical issues in the Region.
“It is important to generate a strong evidence base and gather knowledge about social inequities in the Region. If we don’t invest in understanding the determinants of health – social or otherwise – we will not be able to achieve universal health coverage or the wider Sustainable Development Goals”, suggested Dr Abdul Ghaffar, Executive Director of the Alliance, who attended the Commission launch in Cairo last week. Dr Ahmed Salim Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasized that understanding these issues in the region will also contribute to the region’s Vision 2023 and the WHO’s current programme of work to advance universal health coverage, address health emergencies and promote healthier populations.
Working over the next year, the Commission will analyze and present existing data on health inequalities, document actions being taken by international organizations, governments, civil society organizations and communities to address these issues, offer practical and specific recommendations to reduce health inequalities in the Region, provide strategic guidance on developing plans for equity, and identify opportunities to build capacity through research and evaluation of health inequalities.
The Commission will also establish and contribute to knowledge networks in the Region, such as the Eastern Mediterranean Region Sustainable Development Goals Learning Platform, another initiative supported by the Alliance. The platform works to identify policies, approaches and interventions in countries of the Region that contribute to achieving the health-related SDGs and is shortly launching a new website to facilitate learning across countries.