Social equity & health

Health Equity

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Definition

Health equity, as defined by the World Health Organization, is the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically. Achieving it means everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being, which requires action on the social determinants of health — income, education, housing, working conditions — not only on healthcare.

References

WHOSocial determinants of health — health equity defined as absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among population groups

authoritative definition and evidence of inequity

Overview

What it means

Equity is not equality: equal resources ignore unequal starting points. Because health gaps between rich and poor — such as an 18-year life-expectancy difference between high- and low-income countries — are socially produced and avoidable, they count as inequities rather than natural variation. The concept gives the social pillar of sustainability a measurable moral compass.

How it is used

The term structures public-health policy, SDG monitoring, universal health coverage debates, and health-in-all-policies approaches.

Why it matters

Sustainability's "leave no one behind" promise is, in health terms, precisely an equity commitment.