WHO brings three Regions together for a Health Equity Monitoring Workshop in Malaysia

UALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO) organized a "Workshop for Health Equity Monitoring in the Western Pacific Region" from June 11 to 14, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The workshop was developed and delivered in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for the Americas (PAHO) with speakers from WHO Headquarters. This regional workshop brought together teams of technical professionals from national institutions in six WPRO Member States-Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam, as well as Ukraine from the European Region.

Addressing health inequities

Health inequities are significant and persistent in the Western Pacific Region. These inequities are driven by social determinants of health (SDH) - the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, play, and age. Populations living in poor quality housing, with less education, low levels of social participation and legal protections, fewer opportunities for decent employment, and lack of access to clean water, air, food security, and health services are more likely to suffer from poor health outcomes.

Dr Enna binti Mohd Hanafiah, Senior Deputy Director, Planning Division, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, emphasized: "Health equity is important for the overall health and prosperity of our societies. Equitable health systems ensure that the most vulnerable populations receive the care that they need, strengthening community resilience and reducing the burden of diseases."

The need for equity-based data collection

Despite progress over recent decades, monitoring health inequities remains a challenge due to limited data availability and resources, and other barriers including capacity of some Member States to collect and analyze equity-based health data at national and local levels. Adequate data collection is essential to identify inequities in health outcomes and to understand where the greatest needs and challenges lie. Equity-based health data supports targeted interventions and equitable resource distribution, ensuring proportional support.

"In our Region, there is a 20-year difference between the country with the lowest health-adjusted life expectancy and the highest. What would you do with an additional 20 years of healthy life?", says Dr Joana Madureira Lima, Coordinator, Health Enabling Societies, Division of Healthy Environments and Populations, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. "We must work together to foster collaboration across sectors to tackle the complex and interconnected factors influencing well-being," she adds.

The workshop aimed to support Member States by enhancing their capacity to quantify the social gradient of health outcomes and SDH with a focus at the subnational level. By equipping national teams with WHO tools and instruments, the workshop enabled participating countries to institutionalize health equity monitoring into their national and local surveillance efforts.

^{Participants from MOH Malaysia in the midst of analyzing data using equity measures during the group work.Credit: WHO/E. Callon}

"There are many ways we can measure inequalities and disaggregate the data, but the way we considered it at PAHO is to disaggregate and analyze the data by the first or second administrative level (i.e, regional, district or provincial level)," noted Dr Antonio Sanhueza, Regional Advisor, Health Analysis and Statistics, PAHO. The technology transfer from PAHO to WPRO illustrates how collaboration across WHO is key to tackling these complex issues.

^{Delegates from Viet Nam test the functionalities of the Equity Explorer - a PAHO tool that calculates the ecosocial inequalities in health. Credit: WHO/E. Callon}

^{"The tool is user-friendly." says delegate from Mongolia Credit: WHO/E. Callon}

^{Delegates from Ukraine explore inequities in HIV prevalence between subnational levels and discuss how it can be applied to the European context. Credit: WHO/E. Callon}

The key objectives of the workshop included:

• Strengthening national teams' capacity to measure and monitor health inequities and their determinants
• Increasing national teams' capacity to set equity-based targets
• Building capacity to use WHO tools and instruments for measuring and monitoring health inequalities and SDH
• Supporting the drafting of national health equity profiles and recommendations for institutionalized health equity monitoring
• Enhancing the ability to translate data into policy measures and recommendations to reduce health inequities through action on SDH

Towards a healthier and more equitable future for all

^{Delegates from the Lao People's Democratic Republic calculate health inequities in stunting using methods introduced during the workshop. Credit: WHO/E. Callon}

By strengthening the capacity to collect, analyze, and translate data into equity-based actions, this workshop represents a significant step towards reducing health inequities in the Western Pacific Region. It aims to foster a future where health equity is a cornerstone of public health, leading to better health outcomes and greater social justice for all.

"Health equity is a pathway to health for all and social justice," says Mr Roland Dilipkumar Hensman, Coordinator, Health Information and Innovation (HII), Division of Data, Strategy and Innovation, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. "Equity analyses can help us find who is being left behind and strategize how to reach these population groups," he adds.

^{The WHO Secretariat, from left to right: Dr Achala Upenda Jayatilleke (Consultant, WHO Lao PDR Country Office), Mr Roland Dilipkumar Hensman (Coordinator, Health Information and Innovation (HII), Division of Data, Strategy and Innovation (DSI), WPRO), Ms Imelda Cayetano (Team Associate, Division of Healthy Environments and Populations (DHP), WPRO), Dr Hiromasa Okayasu (Director, DHP, WPRO), Ms Isabel Espinosa (Technical Officer, Health Enabling Societies (HES), DHP, WPRO), Dr Antonio Sanhueza (Regional Advisor, Health Analysis and Statistics, WHO Regional Office for the Americas (PAHO)), Mr Daniel Cueva Cisternas (Consultant, HES, DHP, WPRO), Dr Joanna Madureira Lima (Coordinator, HES, DHP, WPRO), Dr Rajendra Yadav (Team Coordinator, Integrated Communicable Disease Unit (ICD), Division of Programmes for Disease Control (DDC), WPRO), Ms Emma Callon (Consultant, Social Determinants of Health, DHP, WPRO) Credit: WHO/E. Callon}

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