[EQ] Regional Consultation on the Work of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health

47th DIRECTING COUNCIL
58th SESSION OF THE REGIONAL COMMITTEE

Washington, D.C., USA, 25-29 September 2006

Provisional Agenda Item 4.12 CD47/INF/1 (Eng.)

THE COMMISSION ON SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Final Report: Regional Consultation on the Work of the Commission on Social
Determinants of Health

Washington, D. C., 5-6 July 2005

Available online as PDF file at:
http://www.paho.org/english/gov/cd/CD47-inf1-e.pdf

"..PAHO's regional consultation of 2005 brought together a regional sample
of 13 countries, development agencies, civil society organizations, social
scientists, and decision makers, as well as personnel from WHO and PAHO. The
consultation offered an opportunity to study the factors that hinder health
development and propose strategies for intensified action that targets the
health determinants responsible for inequities. The commitment and
participation of national and international leaders will strengthen the
viability of many of the Commission's proposals, such as intervening at
several levels of the social and health system and employing truly
multidisciplinary approaches to reduce the gradients of inequity between
groups and nations.."

The regional consultation currently under way is part of PAHO's
responsibility to support the work of the Commission through a dialogue with
the public health

authorities. We hope that it will serve to inform the governments and the
Secretariat about relevant issues that the Commission addresses and that
could be considered when formulating the Health Agenda for the Americas and
the strategic plans of the Secretariat.

The Commission will work in three broad spheres: political, scientific, and
social.

. In the political sphere, the Commission will attempt to interact
with entities that create, inform, and strengthen public policies and
practices, such as the Directing Council of PAHO and others bodies at
different levels, from the global down to the local. This, it is hoped, will
promote the cause and create opportunities for action in legislative/
regulatory bodies, implementing agencies, and society as a whole to address
the principal social determinants that influence health.

. In the scientific sphere, networks of experts have been created
for selected issues, such as: i) early child development; ii) globalization,
iii) the urban environment, iv) health systems, v) priority public health
conditions, vi) labor conditions, vii) social exclusion, viii) woman and
gender, and ix) measurement. The Region's contribution to networks and to
the dissemination of the results obtained will be made through the Public
Health Forum of the Americas initiative and those of sub-forums such as the
Urban Health Forum.

. The third sphere will be the Commission's work in the countries.
A regional consultation on social determinants will be undertaken with civil
society in the Region, with support from the Organization of American States
(OAS). This consultation should determine how civil society in the Region
will contribute to the work of the Commission and, moreover, how it can
support national and local implementation of the conclusions of the
Commission.

* * * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of
an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality
in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health
Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/
IKM Area]

"Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is".Unless
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and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and
not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members".
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Received on Mon Oct 2 12:31:30 2006