Commission on Social Determinants of Health

According to the Commission website, four mutually re-enforcing areas of work will be established to organise evidence, catalyse action, promote advocacy and support leadership.

• Learning - The Commission will collect, disseminate and promote the use of new and existing evidence on the social determinants of health. This includes establishing Knowledge Networks (KN) on priority social determinants of health and inequities in health. The Knowledge Networks bring together leading scientists and practitioners from all regions of the world and are co-ordinated by institutional leaders in these areas (Knowledge Network Hubs). They will synthesise evidence and best practices to inform the Commission's work. The proposed KNs include:
  • Early child development
  • Employment conditions
  • Social exclusion
  • Globalisation
  • Measurement
  • Priority public health conditions
  • Urban settings
  • Health systems
• Action - The Commission aims to catalyse and support action by disseminating lessons learnt from country-led demonstrations of policy and interventions that address social determinants of health. These demonstrations will be drawn from countries in all regions of the world, where interventions in areas such as education, employment, income policies, trade and health systems have had positive results on improving health and in reducing inequities in health. The lessons from these demonstrations will be shared through regional and international networks to stimulate debate, support policy dialogue, and widen the application of social determinants good practices.
• Advocacy - By organising and sharing evidence on effective policy and action on key social determinants, the Commission intends to raise the profile of both the imperatives and the opportunities for acting on social determinants of health. The Commission aims to stimulate debate among governments, civil society organisations and global actors (United Nations (UN) agencies, global initiatives such as Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Task Forces, G8, etc.) and directly engage them in the Commission’s work. CSDH aims to provide voice to and contribute to the empowerment of civil society organisations by taking stock of their innovative and effective interventions and making this evidence widely accessible.
• Leadership - According to the Commission, leadership for addressing social determinants of health are located within public and political institutions that drive and make decisions in areas of social policy and action. This includes medical and health personnel but also national political leaders, labour leaders, decision-makers in social security institutions, responsible producers, and community leaders. The Commission will engage, support, learn from and give profile to public and political leadership for policy and action on the social determinants of health.

The products of the commission will include:

• Country Reports that illustrate ways of addressing the social determinants of health in national health policies and programmes related to the Commission's themes. Partner countries will document their findings with respect to the policy process and health impacts. Their reports will inform recommendations, both for national and global policies and ways of working at WHO.
• The Knowledge Networks will compile knowledge on interventions to overcome the social barriers to health, with a focus on low-income countries.
• Commission Reports will outline opportunities for action on the social determinants of health for each theme, and recommend specific areas of policy and institutional change to global and Member State stakeholders.
• Using existing WHO, UN, and Member State fora for policy outreach and integration - and in close collaboration with other UN agencies and WHO programmes - the 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.

For more information, visit the Commission website.

Health, Poverty

According to the Commission, "throughout the world, vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people have less access to health resources, get sicker and die earlier than people in more privileged social positions. These unfair gaps are growing in spite of an era of unprecedented global wealth, knowledge and health awareness. By far the greatest share of health problems is attributable to broad social conditions. Yet, health policies have been dominated by disease-focused solutions that largely ignore the social environment. As a result, health problems persist, inequalities have widened, and health interventions have obtained less than optimal results. At the same time, there is evidence that policy, action and leadership to address the social dimensions of health can improve health and access to health care." The Commission will operate for 3 years - from March 2005. In 2008, a WHO report will be published, detailing the "concrete mechanisms" for incorporating social determinants of health interventions into WHO programmes