European Commission: reducing health inequalities essential to better public spending

The European Commission has called for greater consideration of the health impacts of different policies to ensure better use of public funds.

Large amounts of public money are current being spent to treat avoidable illness and disease, an average of 9% of GDP per country in the EU.

Tackling this “drain on society” requires a stronger focus on the social and economic determinants of health, according to a Commission communication on social protection.

“Redressing health inequalities calls for attention to the social determinants of health in all policies, effective healthcare delivery, and a re-examination of priorities,” the commission says.

Living conditions, in particular housing quality, are identified by the Commission as one important part of improving health equity.

“The quality of housing stocks remains a challenge despite efforts to improve standards... [c]oncentrations of housing exclusion and homelessness can only be addressed through housing and urban regeneration programmes to promote sustainable communities and social mix,” the commission says.

The importance of good quality housing is confirmed by a WHO report on the social determinants of health.

“Not only is the provision of shelter essential, but the quality of the shelter and the services associated with it, such as water and sanitation, are also vital contributors to health,” according to the WHO report.

In the UK, the Presidents of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) have recently stressed the importance of good housing for good health.

“There is a need for central government and local government to recognise the importance of housing to our health and well-being and to act and prioritise accordingly,” say Howard Farrand and Stephen Battersby in a joint letter to the Times newspaper.

Their words follow a report from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) which states that 22% of houses in the UK have serious defects can lead to serious health risks.

The European Commission also points out that reducing unfair health gaps will result in greater employment, productivity and growth throughout Europe.

This is essential at a time when economic recovery and Europe’s ageing population are placing a strain on public funds.

“Recovery packages have secured the ground for economic growth, but they have also reduced the hard-won public finance improvements intended to provide room for extra expenditure to address ageing,” the Commission says.

The communication comes in advance of a proposed Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2010, and can be accessed here.

It will now go to the European Parliament and to national governments for further discussion.

The WHO report can be found on this website.

The letter from the CIH/CIEH can be read in full here and the BRE report is available via the BRE Bookshop.