The Council is being set up by UNAIDS, which is well positioned to engage all agencies and civil society collaboratively and inclusively given its unique position as the only joint UN programme. Social and economic inequalities are driving today’s pandemics, including COVID-19, AIDS and Monkey Pox (MPox).

Michael will be joined as co-chair by the Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University Joseph E Stiglitz and First Lady of Namibia, Monica Geingos, UNAIDS Special Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls.

Our health is a human right, yet people’s lives are being cut short through no fault of their own, as a result of avoidable inequalities. Pandemics expose and magnify that where we are born, grow, live, work and age (the social determinants of health, SDH) drive our health and how long we live.

Commenting, Professor Sir Michael Marmot said:

“UNAIDS’ unique role in bringing agencies together means the two-year council provides real potential to reduce the risk of pandemics and better prepare for them by addressing the social determinants of health. The IHE supports the commissioning by building the evidence of the impact of inequalities on the course of pandemics and helping to develop recommendations for action.

It is a privilege to work with my co-chairs Joseph Stiglitz and Monica Geingos. Together we will create an ambitious agenda and, with UNAIDS, build on the global social movement that was launched 15 years ago by the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Since 2008 there has been a lack of political will to act. We know what to do. Health inequalities are mostly caused by the social determinants of health - driven by inequalities in access to power, money and resources.

#inequalitiescouncil

New 
Leeds

• We have been commissioned by Leeds’ City Council public health team to advise and input into action to address health inequalities. The new Marmot City launches in Leeds on 12 June. The initial focus is on early years and housing.  

Southwest Region 

• Michael Marmot launched a Marmot Southwest region in Taunton in April. We are working with the regional public health team over two years, analysing where actions can be scaled up to take more effective actions to reduce health inequalities. We are developing evidence on the economic case for tackling health inequalities. 

Gwent

• The IHE report Together with hope: health equity and the social determinants in Gwent will be published late in June 2023. The report is based on our analysis of local/regional and national data and workshops and interviews with stakeholders in Gwent and a range of partners working in the Welsh government and national bodies. 

Ongoing implementation work 


Luton

• The first Marmot Town continues implementation of the recommendations of the report.  An evaluation of the changes and impact from the work is being undertaken to establish how the work and report have shaped future plans in different sectors in Luton.   

Waltham Forest Borough Council continues to develop implementation plans and embed the recommendations of the Review.


Cheshire and Merseyside

• In May 2023 Michael joined the one-year on anniversary of our report for the Region, All Together Fairer, hosted by CHAMPS, the public health collaborative led by the Directors of Public Health in Cheshire and Merseyside. Leaders from councils, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the NHS joined more than 200 people to discuss achievements (such as Sefton’s child poverty strategy) and challenges for the next year. Knowsley and Liverpool have integrated the recommendations into their local strategies and local social determinants leads are working across the authority to implement these recommendations. All Together Fairer leads continue to meet every 6 weeks.

 
Lancashire and Cumbria 

• Both Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership and North East and North Integrated Care System have/are integrating the recommendations from our report A Hopeful Future: Equity and the social determinants of health in Lancashire and Cumbria into their strategies. 

Other collaborations 


Norway

• Rapid Review of Inequalities in Health and Wellbeing in Norway since 2014 launched March 2023.  The report was commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Health to inform the development of a National Strategy to Reduce Social Inequalities in Health. It is a joint collaboration between UCL Institute of Health Equity and WellFare: Nordic Research Centre for Wellbeing and Social Sustainability, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.  The Directorate of Health is assessing the recommendations for action by the Government. 

Children and Young Peoples Health Equity Collaboration

• IHE is collaborating with Barnardos and 3 ICS – Birmingham and Solihull, Cheshire and Merseyside and South Yorkshire to co-design a Children and Young People’s Health Equity Framework and a measurement tool that brings in the key local insights around children and young people’s health equity.  pilot interventions are being designed for each ICS to make a sustainable impact on health and wellbeing outcomes.

The Greater London Authority – health equity intervention reviews

• IHE has been commissioned by the GLA to produce a series of reviews of effective interventions in key social determinants of health in London.

These include:

• The impacts of the Rising Cost of living on health inequalities in London
• Evidence Review: Housing and Health Inequalities in London

• Review of the health equity impacts of skills programmes in London
• Review of the health equity impacts of structural racism in London.

Hong Kong

• The third report in a series about health equity in Hong Kong, this report will discuss the role of neighborhoods and communities for health equity, as well as the negative effects of climate change and the health impacts of conflict and crises. The series is a joint collaboration between IHE and its partner, the Institute of Health Equity at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

The Health Equity Network – a platform we have set up to enable people who are doing great work on health equity in places and organisations across the UK to share what they are doing with others, be inspired by what others are doing and collaborate in joint working. 

Connecting with others through this network will, we hope, provide inspiration and support for individuals and organisations to go further, to find strength through linking with others who are doing similar work and to generate a movement for health equity that can be felt across the country. And, to exert an influence on national policy making.   

We hope that you join us by registering as a member of the network, posting the work that you are doing or are willing to develop further and about which you want to engage with others in the network.  By doing so you will be helping to develop the movement for health equity that is needed in the UK.