Despite significant improvements in overall health and well-being of people across the WHO European Region, inequities persist. A new international initiative aims to change that.
Despite significant improvements in overall health and well-being of people across the WHO European Region, inequities persist. A new international initiative aims to change that.
The WHO European Health Equity Status Report initiative is working to address these inequities in Europe by promoting and supporting policy action. The initiative, which brings together the WHO and the 53 European member states, aims to collect the different lessons that have been learned across the region, as well as successful examples of promising practice, with the end goal of supporting policies that increase equity in health.
Over the long term, the initiative seeks to improve health and well-being for all and to make sure that no one is left behind. Through national and regional collaboration, the initiative is looking to:
Moving these messages forward requires policy action and a commitment from decision makers. There is no single policy solution for bringing about the conditions that would allow everyone to lead a healthy and prosperous life. Rather, a combination of policy interventions can help scale up action on health equity. The Health Equity Status Report initiative looks to focus specifically on five policy action areas:
By bringing member states across the WHO European Region together and providing them with the necessary tools, the initiative seeks to cultivate conditions that allow each nation to prosper and flourish. Working together, advocates and policymakers can reduce barriers and foster the necessary conditions to achieve greater health equity.