Ghulam Nabi Kazi, Talib Lashari, Guido Sabatinelli, Assai M.
Addressing social determinants of health in Pakistan: moving from theory to practice in the pursuit of better health.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;2(4):41-5.

The major proportion of the global burden of disease and causes of health inequities arise from the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions are referred to as Social Determinants of Health (SDH), a term used to encompass the social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental determinants of health. The most important of these are distribution of income, discrimination on the basis of gender, class, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation, and political and governance structures that reinforce rather than reduce inequalities in economic power. It necessarily follows that addressing SDH will reduce health inequities and improve health outcomes. To highlight this important aspect of health, Pakistan carried out a national consultation on SDH from 27 to 29 April 2012 in Bhurban and intends to carry forward the process at provincial level as well in order to improve its low human development ranking and bring about better health outcomes. Despite a sub-optimal track record of inter-sectoral collaboration, there is every hope that this robust initiative of the country's Planning Commission, provincial governments and the World Health Organization will reap good dividends. Certain suggestions have been made to catalyze the process.

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