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World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health (WHO-CSD) (Motion #25-09)

Moved by Proulx, Belcourt. Approved on April 16, 2009, by the Sudbury & District Board of Health.

Motion

WHEREAS the Sudbury & District Board of Health has an established track record of action and advocacy on reducing health inequities through action on the social determinants of health from its 2005 Determinants of Health Position Statement to its most recent 2009 motion, Put Food in the Budget campaign; and

WHEREAS the Sudbury & District Board of Health recognizes that effective action on the social determinants of health and health inequities requires multi-sector and multi-level initiatives; and

WHEREAS Association of Local Public Health Agency (alPHa) members are invited to submit resolutions for consideration at the upcoming June 2009 alPHa Annual Conference;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Sudbury & District Board of Health support the following motion for consideration by the alPHa membership at its 2009 Annual Conference:

TITLE: World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health (WHO – CSDH): Call to Action for Ontario Public Health

SPONSOR:    Sudbury & District Board of Health

WHEREAS alPHa has an established position and track record on action and advocacy on reducing health inequities through action on the social determinants of health including the establishment of the alPHa-OPHA Joint Work Group on the Social Determinants of Health; and

WHEREAS there is increasing global-to-local understanding and concern about persisting and widening health inequities, defined as unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries and mostly attributable to social determinants; and

WHEREAS the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 to respond to this increasing concern and to provide advice on how to reduce health inequities; and

WHEREAS Canada played a key role in supporting the work of the CSDH including the participation of Commissioner Monique Bégin, the engagement of the Public Health Agency of Canada and leadership in two of the CSDH’s Knowledge Networks; and

WHEREAS the CSDH launched its final report, Closing the Gap in a Generation, in August 2008 which contained three overarching recommendations to close the health gap:

  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

including related implications for local government (including the health sector) and civil society; and

WHEREAS the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion’s (MHP) Strategic Framework recognizes the importance of social and economic factors in determining health; the legislative purpose and objects of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) include the reduction of health inequities; and the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) require all boards of health to assess, plan, deliver, manage, and evaluate programs to reduce inequities in health while at the same time maximizing the health gain for the whole population;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT alPHa congratulate the CSDH for its work and endorse the content and recommendations of the WHO – CSDH final report; and

FURTHER THAT alPHa call on the MHP and the OAHPP to immediately begin work to determine their respective leadership roles in implementing the WHO – CSDH recommendations and in supporting boards of health to do the same; and

FURTHER THAT alPHa work in partnership with boards of health to identify opportunities for individual and collective board action to reduce health inequities through the implementation of the Ontario Public Health Standards; and

FINALLY THAT alPHa widely communicate its support for the WHO – CSDH and this resolution to the Ontario and Canadian public health community, including the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada and the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health.

This item was last modified on June 12, 2015