Health inequalities still rife, report concludes
Health inequalities are still rife in UK, report says
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Thursday, 13, Mar 2008 05:05
There is still a long way to go before health inequalities are significantly reduced in the UK, a report has concluded today.
The latest status report on the nation's inequalities said there have been some improvements but the gap between the life expectancy of women in the most deprived areas is still widening compared to the rest of the country.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who chaired the scientific reference group on health inequalities that oversaw the development of the report, said it is "too early to see any short-term impact on health inequalities" as a result of the equality strategy launched by the government in 2003.
The government aims to reduce inequalities in health outcomes by ten per cent as measured by infant mortality and life expectancy at birth by 2010.
Today's report found that the gap in infant mortality is narrowing and life expectancy in the most deprived areas has increased by two-and-a-half years for men and one-and-a-half years for women over the last ten years.
There has also been long-term progress in reducing child poverty and narrowing inequalities in housing quality, educational attainment, child road accidents and teenage conceptions.
Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said the report shows that "health inequalities are difficult to change".
"We've set ourselves an ambitious target and we're the only country in the world to have a plan to reduce health inequalities," she added. "We are determined to make a difference."
The government is due to publish a long-term strategy to continue to tackle the UK's health inequalities.
"The report shows a very welcome improvement in life expectancy for all social groups, including disadvantaged groups," said Professor Marmot.
"There are encouraging signs of a reduction in health inequalities in the two big killers of cancer and heart disease. Wider policy too makes a difference to health inequalities with over 600,000 children taken out of poverty over the last ten years."
Alan Maryon Davies, president of the faculty of public health, added: "[The report] shows that progress has been achieved in some important areas but reducing the gap remains a challenge.
"Working with other partners, we will continue to work with disadvantaged communities to help them to improve their own health and prospects for life."