“The biggest difference any government can make to improving a nation’s health is to tackle inequality” says Green MEP Jean Lambert in light of World Health Day.
The World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7th, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization.
Euro-MP Jean Lambert has called for governments around the world to promote equality to boost public health.
Speaking ahead of World Health Day, which is marked today, April 7th, she said that tackling inequality is the biggest single thing governments can do to improve public health.
“We need to concentrate on development policies – and tackle the growing inequality that’s causing ill-health in the industrialised North,” she said.
“The World Health Organisation is using today to launch a new campaign on mosquito-spread diseases: and the long-term solution must be lifting people out of poverty, not least so they can afford some of the simple prevention measures.
“Malaria and dengue fever kill millions worldwide each year, and we know that climate change is spreading the range of the mosquitoes that carry them into Europe.
“This will present further challenges to healthcare providers, which means strengthening the right to access healthcare, not using austerity measures to shrink the possibilities – especially for the most vulnerable.
“The biggest difference any government can make to improving a nation’s health is to tackle inequality – and that’s true whether you’re in London, Lagos or Lisbon.”