Social Determinants of health
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THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
L’ASSOCIATION MEDICALE MONDIALE, INC
ASOCIACION MEDICA MUNDIAL, INC
Centre International de Bureaux FEIN : 13-2566243
Immeuble A “Keynes” Website : www.wma.net Postal Address :
13, chemin du Levant Telephone : (33) 4 50 40 75 75 Boîte Postale 63
01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Fax : (33) 4 50 40 59 37 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE Cedex
France E-mail address : wma@wma.net France
14 January 2021
148th
WHO Executive Board session
Item 16 – Social Determinants of Health
Distinguished Delegates,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the World Medical Association, representing
millions of physicians worldwide.
We welcome WHO report aiming to incorporate a focus on Social Determinants of Health (SDH)
into global and national health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and strongly support the
emphasis put on the need for a multisectoral approach to policy decisions for all sectors affecting
health, including environment, housing, transport, education, but also agriculture, trade or taxation.
The pandemic responses must urgently be assessed and developed through a social, economic and
environmental lens.
We support the WHO manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19 launched last May: The
WMA joined the over 40 millions of medical and health professionals raising their collective voice
to G20 leaders, calling for such a recovery. The layers of this ongoing outbreak are many and
amplified by inequality and underinvestment in public health systems. We believe that these
harmful effects could have been partially mitigated, or possibly even prevented by adequate
investments in pandemic preparedness, public health and environmental reforms. We call on
Member States to develop solid mainstreaming mechanisms so that the short- and long-term public
health repercussions of economic and social planned policies are carefully scrutinized before
adoption. This is critical to develop a stronger, healthier and more resilient society based on equity
and human rights values.
The WMA and its members are eager to take an active role in combating social and health
inequities and barriers to obtaining health care, striving to enable physicians to provide equal, high
quality health care to all. Adequate Universal Health Coverage in all countries should be a core
objective as it will help reduce health inequity.
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14.01.2021