Expert review and proposals for measurement of health inequalities in the European Union : full report

Health is wealth. However like wealth, health is not equally distributed among individuals, families, social groups, regions and nations. Several studies have indicated that in all EU Member States, there exist significant differences in health between socio-economic groups, gender and regions. People with lower educational level, income, or employment status tend to report lower subjective health and have higher mortality and morbidity rates. These health inequalities have been the main challenge for public health policies at the Commission level as well as in the Member States. The Commission, in its 2009 communication, underlined the existence of large gaps in health among the EU Member States and invited the Governments of the Member States to develop targeted policies for reducing inequalities in health. In a similar effort, the WHO targeted the reduction of health inequalities both within and between countries by launching the programmes "Health for All by the year 2000" and "Closing the Gap" in 20081. The relevant WHO report reached to the conclusion that health inequalities should be a major concern of governmental policies in all countries.