The first Welsh Health Equity Status Report initiative (WHESRi) Report applies an innovative WHO health equity framework to reveal the disproportionate impact that the coronavirus has had, and is having, on specific groups such as children and young people, women, key workers and ethnic minorities in Wales (United Kingdom).
The Report calls for a greater emphasis on health equity – ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to be healthy – in the response to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforcing the understanding of the strong relationships between individual, community and societal well-being as well as links with the wider economy.
The report is produced by the WHO Collaborating Centre at Public Health Wales in partnership with the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development in Venice. The work is part of an initiative led jointly by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales.
Dr Tracey Cooper, Chief Executive of Public Health Wales, said: “The coronavirus pandemic is having significant health, well-being and socioeconomic consequences. It is felt unequally across our society, threatening those in most need.
“However, amidst the crisis, a new window of opportunity has opened. Public health has become a global focus, strengthening the case for investing in people’s well-being – preventing disease early, protecting and promoting health, enhancing resilience and equity, supporting the most vulnerable, and empowering our communities.”
Collaboration between WHO/Europe and Public Health Wales has been recently strengthened with a new Memorandum of Understanding that will allow closer collaboration in the implementation of the European Programme of Work, 2020–2025.