Dr Erio Ziglio

World Health Organization

European Office for Investment for Health and Development

COMMISSION ON SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

4th Meeting of Commissioners Tehran, Iran, 16-20 January 2006

Proposal for a Global Initiative “Using Social Determinants for Health”

FEEDBACK

PROPOSAL

CONTEXT

START March 2005

END May 2008

CDSH activity period

Maximizing impact

Translate the evidence into know-how for action in both WHO and in countries

Review and contribute to “best practice”

Put the reduction of health inequalities at the centre of all health policy decisions.

Sometimes it’s only a matter of a quick fix…

…at other times it’s a more complex matter!

Isolated programmes

Power structures

System rigidity

Lack of incentives

“Territorialism”

PROPOSAL

FEEDBACK

Need for systematic

support

WHO Director-General Dr J.W. Lee

The Lancet, vol.365, 19 March 2005

Interventions aimed at reducing disease and

saving lives succeed only when they take

the social determinants of health adequately

into account (…)

That knowledge needs to be more fully

developed and widely shared so that it can

be used.

The WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development

Venice, Italy

The Social Determinants for Health (SDfH)

Initiative is a proposal for a WHO programme

to help decision makers to use the evidence

on the social determinants of health.

THE ACTIVITIES

Mapping WHO

skills and

know-how

Consensus

Building

Workshops

Building a critical

capability in

countries

Communication and social

marketing strategy

Mapping WHO skills and know-how

Aims

• To map knowledge and know-how

• To give SDfH a central position

Method

• Case studies

• Programme reviews

• Focused interviews

Impact

• Identification of training focal points

• Assessment of assets and gaps

Aims

• To increase awareness and reduce barriers

• To develop supportive networks

Method

• Case studies

• Interactive knowledge sharing

Impact

• To strengthen awareness

• To expand the know-how

Consensus

Building

Workshops

Aims

• To strengthen leadership

• To support system development

• To improve human resource capacity

Method

• Strategy Labs

• Intensive training for future leaders

Impact

• To increase knowledge, skills and know-how

Building a critical

capability in

countries

Supporting leaders in taking action

Increasing awareness within and outside the health sector

Informing national and international media

Integrating social determinants into vertical and population specific programmes

Communication and social

marketing strategy

THE SDfH PROGRAMME BENEFICIARIES

• Those in key positions to promote mainstreaming

• Those with technical experience who can spearhead practical utilization in countries

• Those who have not yet had an opportunity to explore the importance of social determinants

Different levels of SDfH impact:

Doing different things

Doing same things better

FEEDBACK

SDfH a tool to sustain change

Need for systematic support