4.1 Training for promoting equity-focused integration of the social determinants of health

Intersectoral SDH training developed in Morocco: Intersectoral training sessions were held to integrate health into urban development plans. These sessions focused on building capacity among health professionals, managers and actors from other ministerial departments at national and sub-national levels. The training aimed to raise awareness about health-determined inequities and the Health-in-All-Policies approach. By sharing these concepts with actors from different sectors, challenges in collaboration, such as the perception that health is exclusively the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, were addressed, fostering a broader understanding of health equity across sectors.

Social medicine and advocacy training course in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: This three-week, in-person course – conducted in partnership with Birzeit University’s Institute of Community and Public Health and the Harvard FXB Center – brought together students from Palestine and Harvard  to build multidisciplinary knowledge on the social determinants of health. Beyond education, the course fostered a network of structurally competent health professionals committed to solidarity, advocacy and organizing, with plans to expand this community in the future.

Intersectoral SDH training in the Americas: Courses on the PAHO virtual campus on intersectoral action to address health inequities and SDH, aimed at different audiences: technicians at the local level; from the health sector, and from other sectors beyond health.

Cycle of conferences on “Health equity: challenges and perspectives” in Lausanne, Switzerland: Together, the Departments of Vulnerability and Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Systems, the Lausanne Centre for Health Economics, Behavior and Policy, and the Faculty of Biology and Medicine organized a series of conferences at Unisanté featuring world-renowned experts on the theme of “Health equity: challenges and perspectives”. These conferences offered an opportunity to explore social inequalities in health, their structural determinants and the public policies aimed at reducing them.

Integrating the social determinants of health in health programme design in Chile: At the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales in Chile, a course was developed as part of a formative evaluation process for health programmes facing rising inequality or limited progress. The course focuses on equity, gender and human rights, and guides participants in redesigning or adjusting existing programmes. A learning-by-doing approach builds participants’ skills to apply social determinants and Health in All Policies approaches in everyday work. The course emphasizes transformative change and practical solutions, using methods like journal clubs, group work, case studies and online support. It features, among others, in the WHO book, Integrating the social determinants of health into health workforce education and training.