Subscribe Log in

Log in

Remember me. [?]
Forgotten password
Not got an account?

Subscribe or register here

Toggle navigation
Student BMJ
Search
  • News & views
    • At a glance >>
    • Life
    • Briefings
    • Research explained
    • Views
    • People
  • Clinical
    • Practical skills
    • Clinical reviews
    • Ethics & law
    • Picture quizzes
    • Junior doctor survival kit
  • Specialties
    • Cardiology
    • Emergency medicine
    • Gastroenterology
    • General practice
    • General Surgery
    • Geriatric medicine
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics & Gynaecology
    • Paediatrics
    • Psychiatry
    • Radiology
    • Respiratory
  • Careers
    • Career planning
    • A career in...
    • Electives
    • Foundation programme
    • Careers advice
  • Applying to medical school
    • At a glance >>
    • Application timeline
    • Considering medicine
    • Medical School Selector
    • Work experience
    • Personal statement
    • Entrance exams
    • Interviews
    • Plan B
    • Graduate entry medicine
    • Mediprep course
  • Subscribe

Tackling health inequities

A WHO report calls for global action to ensure health equity within and between countries, write George Davey Smith and Nancy Krieger

By: George Davey Smith, Nancy Krieger

Finally, an official report on health inequity has been published that has the honesty and courage to say that “social injustice is killing people on a grand scale.”1 The report of the World Health Organization's Commission on Social Determinants of Health synthesises evidence from a large and disparate range of sources, while recognising that what constitutes evidence is itself contested and not value free.2 It presents a wealth of data to show the unquestionable link between economic, social, and bodily wellbeing'within and across countries. In the case of life expectancy, these embodied facts of social inequity3 can span the equivalent of a lifetime: women born in Botswana can anticipate living an average of 43 years, half that of the 86 years for women in Japan; between the poorest and most affluent parts of Glasgow life expectancy in men ranges from 54 to 82 years.

Many official reports have documented social

To read the rest of this article log in or subscribe to Student BMJ.

If you're not ready to subscribe yet you can access News & views for free or register with us to receive free updates on our latest content.

Log in Subscribe
  • Most viewed
  • What's new

Stay in touch

  • Register for email alerts

Contact us

  • Contact us
  • Advertisers and sponsors
  • Media

About Student BMJ

  • About us
  • Join the BMA
  • Subscribe
  • Write for Student BMJ
  • Review articles for Student BMJ
  • The BMJ
  • The Student BMJ scholarship
  • Request permissions
  • Sitemap

Terms and Conditions

  • Website T&Cs
  • Medical School Selector T&Cs
  • Privacy policy

© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2018. All rights reserved.