Report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

The Commission

The Commission on the Social Determinants of Health in the Eastern Mediterranean was established in 2019 by the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean as an independent, expert Commission. The Commission has conducted an extensive review of health inequities in the Region and has produced a report "Build back fairer: achieving health equity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region". The report provides detailed analysis of the status of health inequities and a list of actionable recommendations. The work of the Commission puts social justice and health equity at the centre of all action to address the social determinants of health as shown in the figure below.

framework

Conceptual framework of the Commission's report

The Commission comprises regional and global experts in various field of health and development. The Commission is led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot from the Institute of Health Equity, University College London.

The list of members of the Regional Commission includes:

Abdirisak Dalmar; Somali Research and Development Institute, Mogadishu, Somalia
Adel Al Zayani, Human and Environment Affairs, Gulf Cooperation Council, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Anita Zaidi, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USA
Assad Hafeez, Health Services Academy, Pakistan
Bagher Larijani, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran
David Bishai, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Hoda Rashad, American University in Cairo, Egypt
Iman Nuwayhid, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University in Beirut, Lebanon
K. Srinath Reddy,; Public Health Foundation of India, India
Rajae El Aouad, Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technology, Morocco
Rowaida Al-Maaitah, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
Salwa Najjab, Juzoor Foundation for Health and Social Development, occupied Palestinian territory
Senait Fisseha, Susan Buffet Foundation, USA
Stephen Gloyd, Global Health and Health Services, University of Washington, USA.

commissioner-pictures

The establishment of the Commission and their work is the result of a partnership between the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, the Institute of Health Equity at University College London and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research.

Its work builds on the work of the global Commission on the Social Determinants of Health established by WHO in 2008 and of other regional commissions (in Europe and the Americas) and provides a more contextualized analysis of determinants relevant to the Eastern Mediterranean Region, such as migration and conflict, in addition to the social, political and environmental determinants which impact health and well-being throughout the Region.

The Commission has recommended key policy actions to address health inequities and promote social justice and fairness.

Their report covers the following topics:

Health inequities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
COVID-19 and health inequalities
Conflict and consequences and migration
Economic drivers and health equity
Culture and society
Climate change, the natural environment and health equity
Equity in maternal and child health, the early years and education
Working lives and health equity
Healthy ageing
Built environments and health equity
Health systems for health equity
Governance and taking action to build back fairer.