Narrowing the gap

The Indipendent
4th March 2010
Opinion

by Brenda Azzopardi


In October 2009, the European Commission adopted a Communication on Solidarity in Health. The Commission is thereby aiming to reduce and help address health inequalities in the European Union. This framework should serve as a stepping stone towards a more holistic EU public health policy. Studies throughout Europe show that those with least access to economic and social resources tend to suffer most from health problems. European citizens’ chance of living a long and healthy life is strongly related to their socio-economic status. Governments should therefore ensure that their health care system be accessible and available to all. Health care systems should have a uniform, high level of quality standards for all population groups.

Health inequalities between different socio-economic groups have become an increasing problem even in relatively wealthy EU Member States. Vulnerable groups in our societies tend to suffer from more illnesses and disabilities and are prone to live shorter lives than the more prosperous ones. The Maltese Government considers education to be the vital tool towards the reduction of health inequalities. Children, especially those living in single parent and/or unemployed households, elderly persons and migrants are among the vulnerable groups in Malta. Evidence from studies also indicates that, within EU Member States, relative mortality differences exist between high and low socio-economic groups. Access to health care services provided by the government should be timely. The health care services should cover those preventive routine services which increase the number of individuals living a healthy lifestyle.

Many people in the new EU Member States tend to live a shorter life than in their Western counterparts. According to the Consultation Paper issued by the European Commission last April, socio-economic inequalities in health life years can amount to more than 10 years for men and almost 5 years for women. Language as a barrier to accessing healthcare by ethnic and religious minorities in several Member States, including Malta, has also been highlighted. A sustainable society needs the supporting tools for health equity between Member States in Europe. In fact, this is why the influence of the EU on policies for health and health services has increased significantly in recent years. EU Member States have the prime responsibility for protecting and improving the health of their citizens and their medical care.

However, the EU can contribute by supporting and coordinating the Member States’ actions in this area and by raising awareness of examples of health inequalities within the EU. By strengthening the Open Method of Coordination for Social Protection and Social Inclusion, the Communication aims at facilitating partnership, dialogue and communication to promote a wider involvement of stakeholders, to support mutual learning as well as to facilitate a shared approach towards common goals and challenges among Member States. The Communication also proposes the issuing of regular statistics and reporting on the size of inequalities in the EU and on successful strategies to reduce them as well as better information on EU funding to help national authorities and other bodies address the inequalities

The political will to act at the European level to help close the gap in health and life expectancy between and within the Member States was underlined during the June 2008 European Council meeting, the July 2008 Commission Communication on a Renewed Social Agenda and the Commission White Paper on a strategic approach for the EU between 2008 – 2013, before the Communication on health inequalities for 2009 was announced. Tackling health inequalities at EU level will be occupying an important level on the agenda of the Council of the EU in the coming months, with the full support of the Spanish EU Council Presidency.

Ms Azzopardi is Research Analyst at the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC)
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