Calling all Don Quixotes and Sancho Panzas: achieving the dream of global health equity through practical action on the social determinants of health

Abstract

The international conference 'Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health', November 2008 (1) was a global call to action – a call to develop and implement public policies, private sector responsibility and social action that put health equity as a central goal. Over the course of two days politicians, senior public servants, leaders of international organisations, civil society activists and academics, fromall regions of the world, discussed the issues, conclusions and recommendations made by the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH)(2). The CSDH was set up in 2005 by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a major global effort to address health inequity between and within countries (3). Its final report was presented to Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO in August 2008. Here we describe the key issues debated at the November conference and outline a global research, training and policy agenda for health equity.