Last Update:  March 04, 2008  

Consultation on Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) of WHO 

Date: 10 January 2006

Venue: Vishwa Yuvak Kendra, Circular Road, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 11002. Ph. 011 23013631

Last year WHO constituted the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). The setting up of the Commission, and its focus away from a bio-medical view of Health has been welcomed by the People’s Health Movement. An active member of PHM, Dr. Frances Baum of Australia is a commissioner. Briefly, the WHO conceives of the Commissions work as follows :

“The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) aims to address the gross inequalities in health between countries and among social groups within countries through action on social determinants of health. The CSDH is a global strategic mechanism to promote a new health agenda oriented to social determinants at global, regional and country levels”. 

Many of us and our organisations have been long aware of the impact of social determinants on health, especially on the marginalised and the impoverished. Though late on the scene, WHO’s desire to involve CSOs in “hearing” grassroots level voices is a welcome step and hopefully they will not only hear but “listen” to those voices too. 

Jan Swasthya Abhiyan is working with the Commission to work out a strategy for intervention of Civil Society Organisations in the Commission’s work. This phase of the programme is really the preparatory phase designed to prepare a work plan for civil society participation in the work of the Commission. The next phase, or the implementation phase, will last about two years till the end of the term of the Commission. In this phase we would attempt to accomplish the task of identifying Civil Society actors in the region who have an interest in working with the Commission, of sensitising key organisations, of creating a nucleus in countries of the region to deepen civil society participation in the Commission’s work. In the implementation phase civil society organisations are expected to work with different facets of the Commission’s work in order to shape the Commission’s report and also to be active partners in programmes at the country, regional and global levels that emerge from the work of the Commission.

The proposed consultation is designed to elicit views about social determinants of health and incorporate these views while designing a strategy that impacts positively on the working of the Commission.

We feel that the Commission on Social Determinants on Health set up by the WHO is a positive step forward and constitutes a break from past practice. Importantly, it allows Civil Society organisations to impress the need to look at Health as a function of a number of socially determined factors – viz. food security, employment, social exclusions, gender discrimination, poverty, etc. We also think it is important that views of organisations working in different sectors (and not just in the area of Health care or delivery) are associated with this process.