Thursday 15 May - Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

Daily Partners: EuroHealthNet, Health promotion section

Daily message

Good health is not just a matter of personal choices or medical care—it is shaped by the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. Factors such as income, education, housing, employment, and social support have a profound impact on health outcomes, yet access to healthcare and opportunities for well-being remain deeply unequal. To achieve true health equity, we must address these systemic disparities and create inclusive policies that ensure everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to live a healthy life.

How can we build fairer and more inclusive health systems? What policies can reduce health inequalities and improve access to care? How can innovation help close the gap and ensure no one is left behind?

Sub-themes

• Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and equal access to care.
• Addressing social and economic barriers to health.
• Health equity across all stages of life.
• Policies to reduce health disparities.
• Digital health and AI for inclusive healthcare.
• Intergenerational approaches to health equity.
• Gender, LGBTQ+, migrant health, and inclusive healthcare
• Innovative solutions for fair and sustainable health systems.
• Multiannual financial frameworks and public health.

By tackling the root causes of health disparities, we can move toward a future where good health is not a privilege but a fundamental right for all.

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Comprehensive approaches to address the root causes of health inequalities at the local level

High levels of social inequity and associated health inequalities affect everyone and destabilise societies. Health inequalities are caused by unequal access to resources and opportunities, such as income, education, healthcare, and living conditions, that influence people's health. They are often driven by social, economic, and environmental factors, and cannot be addressed by the health sector or through lifestyle and behavioural interventionsalone.

Comprehensive local-level monitoring and actions are crucial to reducing health inequalities because they can be tailored to meet the specific needs, contexts and challenges faced by communities. Local action can strengthen access to resources, provide opportunities and create healthy living environments for everyone. Local authorities and actors are better placed to assess, reach and engage citizens and coordinate services across sectors.

There are important considerations when it comes to monitoring, designing, implementing and evaluating local-level strategies and actions to improve health and reduce health inequalities. How, for example, can citizens be engaged in efforts to investigate, protect and promote their own interests? What structures and mechanisms can be put in place to ensure effective cross-sectoral actions to reduce health inequalities, and what can be done to ensure that measures taken do not benefit residents who are already better off, more, thereby widening health inequalities?  

This session will explore these and other issues and questions on the theme of comprehensive local-level actions to address the root causes of health inequalities and showcase promising practice across the EU.

Agenda Summary:

• 10:00 – 10:05 | Opening Remarks

  • Caroline Costongs (Director, EuroHealthNet)

  • Charlotte Marchandise (Executive Director, EUPHA)

• 10:05 – 10:20 | Keynote Presentation

  • Jennie Popay (Professor of Sociology and Health, University of Lancaster)

• 10:20 – 10:30 | Presentation

  • Prof. Eric Breton (EHESP, France; Chair, EUPHA Health Promotion Section)

• 10:30 – 10:40 | Presentation

  • Ingrid Stegeman (Programme Manager, EuroHealthNet)

• 10:40 – 10:50 | Presentation

  • Dr. Mark Francis (Lead Researcher, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare; Health Inequalities Coordinator, Joint Action PreventNCDs)

• 10:50 – 11:00 | Discussion and Q&A

  • Audience questions and closing reflections

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