Poor health conditions cannot be explained simply by germs and genes. It is much more than that. It is a complex situation involving both the circumstances in which people live and their individual and cultural characteristics (like social status; gender, age and ethnicity norms; values and discrimination).
All these factors influence the chance of leading a flourishing, healthy life of an individual.
According to the Interim Report on Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide, significant inequities in health and the role played by their social factors are present across and within countries in the WHO European Region.
Addressing these health inequities requires dealing with their root causes: the unequal distribution of power, income, goods, and services in our societies. Robust evidence collected at the global, European, national, and sub-national levels has led to an increasing call for action on social determinants.
The report by the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) in 2008 and the related 2009 World Health Assembly resolution point to the urgent need to increase the commitment by Member States to address these root causes of health inequities.
Dr. Harshit Jain, Founder, and CEO of, Doceree, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore a stark inequality that our world is grappling with – the inequality towards accessibility to quality and affordable healthcare. It is ironic that a section of our society still does not have access to health services and quality medications, at a time when notable strides are being made in the field of healthcare across the globe. The pandemic has also provided us with a solution to tackle the problem. The virus outbreak underscored the importance of digital mediums in healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, which had by far been reluctant to adapt to digital technologies.”
“Digital medium has huge potential in making quality healthcare accessible and affordable. Telehealth platforms can multiply the number of doctors by bringing them online and address the issue of shortage of doctors. This would, to a great extent, solve the issue of accessibility to quality healthcare. The other area where digital can work well is in the pharmaceutical industry. The adoption of digital technologies to engage physicians can bring down the marketing costs of pharma brands substantially. The reduced costs would eventually show up on the prices of drugs and that would greatly contribute to making healthcare affordable”, he further said.
