Commission on Social Determinants of Health, 2005-2008

The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) was established to support countries and global health partners to address the social factors leading to ill health and inequities. It drew the attention of society to the social determinants of health that are known to be among the worst causes of poor health and inequalities between and within countries.

• More about the Commission

Overarching recommendations of the Commission:

• 1. Improve daily living conditions
• 2. Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources
• 3. Measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action

Final report of the Commission

Inequities are killing people on a "grand scale" reports WHO's Commission

"This ends the debate decisively. Health care is an important determinant of health. Lifestyles are important determinants of health. But... it is factors in the social environment that determine access to health services and influence lifestyle choices in the first place." Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, at the launch of the final report of the CSDH.

• The Report, Executive Summaries, backgrounders, stories and multimedia

Areas of work of the Commission

In order to achieve its goals, the Commission on Social Determinants of Health focused on the following:

• Country action
  The Commission supported countries to develop policies that address the social causes of poor health and inequities.
• Civil society
  Civil society organizations from all regions provided vital inputs to the Commission's work.
• Knowledge networks
  The networks collated knowledge and evidence to support policy design and action.

Documents

• Background documents on the Commission