[afro-nets] Launch of WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Launch of WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
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From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) 
 
Commission on Social Determinants of Health
 
Website: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ 
 
Much of the profound inequity in peoples? health within and be-
tween countries is socially determined. It arises from the cir-
cumstances in which people live and work. The thee-year, high-
level Commission on Social Determinants of Health will leverage 
change in policy and institutional practice by turning existing 
knowledge on social determinants into actionable global, re-
gional and national policy agendas.
 
To achieve this, the Commission will compile and make visible 
the relevant evidence on key social determinants and the poli-
cies and interventions that address them. It will support and 
promote the implementation of such policies and interventions by 
Member States, and by national, regional and global health ac-
tors, including WHO. 
 
What will the Commission deliver?
 
The Commission aims to lever policy change by turning existing 
public health knowledge into actionable global and national pol-
icy agendas. It will:
* Compile evidence on successful interventions and formulate 
policies that address key social determinants, particularly for 
low-income countries; 
* Raise societal debate and advocate for implementation by Mem-
ber States, civil society, and global health actors of policies 
that address social determinants; 
* Define a medium- and long-term action agenda for incorporating 
social determinants of health interventions/approaches into 
planning, policy, and technical work within WHO. 
 
What are the main products of the Commission?
 
Country work will illustrate ways of addressing the social de-
terminants of health in national health policies and programmes 
related to the Commission's themes. Partner countries will docu-
ment their findings with respect to the policy process and 
health impacts. Their reports will inform the Commissioners' 
recommendations, both for national and global policies and ways 
of working at WHO.
 
Knowledge Networks comprised of leading scientists and practi-
tioners will compile knowledge on interventions to overcome the 
social barriers to health, with a focus on low-income countries. 
The Knowledge Networks will cover themes including: early child 
development, health systems, employment conditions, globaliza-
tion, priority public health conditions, urban settings, social 
exclusion, and measurement of the impact of social determinants 
approaches on health outcomes.
 
Commission Reports will outline opportunities for action on the 
social determinants of health for each theme, and recommend spe-
cific areas of policy and institutional change to global and 
Member State stakeholders.
 
Using existing WHO, UN, and Member State fora for policy out-
reach and integration­and in close collaboration with other UN 
agencies and WHO programmes­the Commission will deliver targeted 
policy recommendations for overcoming social barriers to health.
 
A WHO Report will propose concrete mechanisms for incorporating 
social determinants of health interventions and approaches into 
WHO programmes.
 
What are concrete examples of social determinants of health in-
terventions?
 
The Commission is dedicated to identifying effective approaches 
and producing policy recommendations for overcoming the social 
barriers to health. In this process, innovative initiatives such 
as the following will be evaluated and their potential for wide-
spread replication explored:
* Health inequalities impact assessments; 
* Health needs assessments for disadvantaged groups; 
* Prevention and health promotion campaigns targeting vulnerable
  groups; 
* "Health action zones" declared for areas deprived of services; 
* Local authority scrutiny of inequalities; 
* Occupational health services for all employees; 
* Job rotation for laborers in high-risk jobs; 
* Employment protection for chronically ill citizens; 
* School-based health and nutrition services; 
* Healthy food catering to workplaces; 
* Healthy community trainings; 
* Social welfare programmes that make benefits conditional on
  children's school attendance, regular medical check-ups and
  other health-promoting actions; 
* Integrated public budgeting based on health and health equity
  objectives for the country. 
 
Knowledge networks 
 
The Commission will convene processes that organize knowledge, 
strengthen country practice and support leadership. These proc-
esses will be structured around specific themes (e.g., early 
child development, urban settings and health systems); the 
health challenges faced by particular communities (e.g., tempo-
rary and informal workers, indigenous peoples, and slum dwell-
ers); and opportunities for policy and action. Knowledge Net-
works comprised of leading scientists and practitioners will 
compile knowledge on interventions to overcome the social barri-
ers to health, with a focus on low-income countries. 
 
Note: PHM's Dr Fran Baum has been selected as a member of this 
Commision. Dr Ravi Narayan has also been invited to the launch-
ing of the Commission in a ceremony in Santiago, Chile on March 
18.
 
--
Claudio Schuftan
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn