Providing health intelligence to meet local needs

Overview

During the last two decades, inequalities in social and economic well-being have increased at unprecedented rates, particularly in urban settings, according to reports from national and international agencies (1−5). Some estimates suggest that, depending on the world region, 50−80% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2030 (3). Latin America, at 79% urban, is currently one of the world’s most urbanized regions. Social and economic determinants and their impacts on health and health inequalities need to be understood and quantified at both the level of the city as a whole and, crucially, at the level of the neighbourhood or small area.