Health equity: we need political action not performative promises

The Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 called for health for all.1 Most declarations since reiterate this commitment to health equity, including the 2023 UN political declaration on universal health coverage recently adopted in New York.2 But the meetings and processes producing these declarations differ markedly. The 1978 meeting intended to “exert moral pressure” and was deliberately international and multisectoral, involving political movements. The 2023 universal health coverage process aimed at inclusion, but was criticised for “recycling ancient promises.”3Declaring commitment alone is meaningless without political action to improve the social and commercial determinants of health. Health equity will not be achieved through technical fixes alone; technical inputs have a role to play, but there is no getting around the fact that making health for all a reality is a political project. On this path, we must disrupt prevailing paradigms and galvanise fresh commitments to tangible action.The Sustainable Development Goals adopted in…
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