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Urgent cross government strategy needed to tackle health inequality

The new Inequalities in Health Alliance has written to local MPs in the North of England to call for action to urgently address health inequalities highlighted by the pandemic.

The new Inequalities in Health Alliance (IHA) has written to local MPs in the North of England to call for action to urgently address health inequalities highlighted by the pandemic.

The IHA wants a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities in the ten local authorities in England with the lowest life expectancy from birth. In many cases, life expectancies also roughly correlate with Covid-19 cases and deaths.

As well as shortening life expectancy, health inequalities can damage quality of life. Those living in the most deprived areas spend nearly a third of their lives in poor health, compared to only about a sixth for those in the least deprived areas.

The IHA, launched at the end of October 2020, is made up of 150 not for profit organisations brought together by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). One of its first actions was to contact MPs asking them to write to their local NHS Trust(s) to see what action they are taking on addressing inequalities in health.

Call for a cross-government strategy on health inequality

The RCP has written to the Prime Minister on behalf of the IHA, acknowledging that the government has been focused on responding to the pandemic but pointing out that Covid-19 has exposed how health inequalities can have an impact not just over a lifetime, but a matter of weeks. It continues to hit those already most disadvantaged in our society.

The IHA wants local MPs to back its call for a cross-government strategy. Many of their constituents would support this – polling conducted on behalf of the RCP found that 81% of the public agrees there should be a UK government strategy to reduce such inequalities.

RCP president Professor Andrew Goddard said: “Let something good come out of this awful pandemic – let it be the moment when we said that enough was enough and took the steps necessary to tackle health inequalities, to end the unforgiveable situation by which people in one place live longer than those in another or spend more of their lives in poor health.

“We need a cross-government strategy because health inequalities often arise from factors outside of individuals’ control, such as not having enough money to eat healthily or to be able to find or afford better housing.”

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