The World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced a groundbreaking operational framework for monitoring social determinants of health equity and implementing strategies to address them. This initiative aims to assist countries in making evidence-based policy decisions to promote health equity, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can achieve the highest possible standard of health and well-being.
The social determinants of health, encompassing the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, as well as their access to power, money, and resources, significantly impact their health and well-being. These factors also contribute to health inequities within and between countries. Recent global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and ongoing conflicts, have further exacerbated these inequities, underscoring the urgent need for governments to reconstruct societies in a manner that benefits all individuals.
Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of the Department for Social Determinants of Health at WHO, emphasized the crucial role of governments in identifying and eliminating inequities to uphold the fundamental human right to health. This requires the availability of data, systems, and capacities to support these efforts. The WHO operational framework for monitoring social determinants of health equity provides a practical pathway for achieving this goal.
Nearly two decades ago, WHO’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health outlined an agenda to assist countries in addressing these determinants. However, despite commitments from many governments, progress in implementing the Commission’s recommendations has been insufficient. Resolution WHA74.16, adopted at the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly in 2021, urged Member States to take action to address social determinants of health, tasking WHO with developing an operational framework to measure these determinants and health inequities.
The recently launched operational framework draws on previous research and work in this field and provides a set of indicators, a step-by-step process for technical monitoring, and guidance on leveraging data to inform policy for health equity at national and subnational levels. Together with the forthcoming world report on social determinants of health equity, this framework signals a renewed effort to address these critical determinants.
Dr. Krug reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to advancing health equity and creating fairer societies and healthier lives, emphasizing the organization’s readiness to assist countries in utilizing and adapting the operational framework to their specific national contexts. This new framework represents a significant step forward in the global effort to address health disparities and promote equitable access to health and well-being for all individuals.
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