Policy Approaches to Address the Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Inequity in Asia-Pacific

Abstract

Asia Pacific is home to over 60% of the world's population and the fastest growing economies. Many of the leadership in the Asia Pacific region is becoming increasingly aware that improving the conditions for health would go a long way to sustaining economic prosperity in the region, as well as improving global and local health equity. There is no biological reason why males born in Cambodia can expect to live 23 years less than males born in Japan, or why females born in Tuvalu live 23 years shorter than females in New Zealand or why non-Indigenous Australian males live 12 years longer than Indigenous men. The nature and drivers of health inequities vary greatly among different social, cultural and geo-political contexts and effective solutions must take this into account. This paper utilizes the CSDH global recommendations as a basis for looking at the actions that are taking place to address the structural drivers and conditions of daily living that affect health inequities in the Asia Pacific context. While there are signs of action and hope, substantial challenges remain for health equity in Asia Pacific. The gains that have been made to date are not equally distributed and may be unsustainable as the world encounters new economic, social and environmental challenges. Tackling health inequities is a political imperative that requires leadership, political courage, social action, a sound evidence base and progressive public policy.

Factors Influencing Unmet Need for Health Care Services in Korea

“…A recent publication suggested the need for action to address the structural drivers and conditions of daily living that affect health inequities in the Asia Pacific context. 29 While there are signs of action and hope, substantial challenges remain for health equity in Asia Pacific. This study adds to the current body of literature by showing that residential areas and education are greater barriers to health care access than cost barriers due to differences in income in Korea.…”

Training needs for research in health inequities among health and demographic researchers from eight African and Asian countries

“…Yet, this type of evidence is not readily available in LMIC’s in Africa and Asia. Research on the socio-economic drivers of health inequalities is an emerging field in these countries [ 17 – 19 ], and training possibilities for SDH research are limited [ 20 ]. Thus, there is a need for the development of capacity-building activities to enable such research [ 3 , 20 ].…”

Maternal health care utilization in Viet Nam: increasing ethnic inequity

“…Health-care planners need to rely instead on estimates and data obtained through surveys, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), 4,6 and even when survey data are available, they are rarely comprehensive or used by policy-makers. 7 Maternal mortality has traditionally been used as an indicator of and a proxy for health system performance and quality because of the complex, multifaceted character of the interventions involved in skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care. 8 Measuring maternal mortality is difficult because of underreporting in many societies and because different definitions are used.…”