The upcoming Health Disparities White Paper provides a unique opportunity for the Government to set out the policies which will create a fairer and healthier society and set the direction of travel for public health.
The consequences of inequalities on the health and wellbeing of communities can be life changing. People living in the most deprived areas of the country are more likely to have shorter lives and have poorer health. If the root causes of health inequalities are not addressed through policies and action, we will see the country continue to slide back to the Victorian era.
The Royal Society for Public Health, Cancer Research UK, The Association for Directors of Public Health, The Health Foundation, and other charities have written a Consensus Statement, setting out what is needed in the White Paper. We are calling for:
1. Policies with a population-level focus which will create healthy environments for communities across the country and which emphasise the importance of interventions focused on prevention.
2. Sustainable and sufficient funding so that the public health workforce can deliver impactful services which ensure true levelling up
3. Policies that address the risk factors, for example smoking and obesity, which are harmful to the public’s health.
