Panel Discussion

The WHO report on the social determinants of health has restated the importance of social justice in protecting and promoting the public’s health. Social injustice not only kills on a grand scale, it also lies behind the social marginalization of large numbers of vulnerable people in all societies. Coming from the poorer sections of any community, they suffer from a combination of problems which places them on the slippery slope to social exclusion. When national and local health care systems are being encouraged to invest in areas of greatest need, using the most effective evidence-based approaches, what vcalue can be placed on social justice as a level for change? This session will look at three population groups at the margins of society, the mentally disabled, the migrant and ethnic minorities and those in compulsory detention such as prisons. Work being undertaken in two WHO Regions, PAHO and WHO Europe, along with research and initiatives in some public health associations all show that public health must move from tolerating current discrimination against these groups towards improving their access to health care, the protection of their human rights and the improvement in their health, thus reducing health inequalities and improving public health as a whole. Global leadership is needed in a new program for increased capacity in improving the health of the vulnerable in all societies.

Session Objectives: 1. Define the public health values that underpin health improvement interventions for the socially marginalized 2. Identify how public health associations with improved capacity can make a difference in improving health in the socially marginalized 3. Discuss the need for global leadership in this context and a proposal for the WFPHA to lead a program of capacity building in leadership and collaborative working, aiming to improve health in the socially marginalized