http://w4.metrotor.on.ca/icsite/newsrel.nsf/7017df2f20edbe2885256619004e428e
/c03a15e19e09c1f5852569dc007aa8a0?OpenDocument

For Immediate Release - January 22, 2001
Toronto's Medical Officer presents State of the City's Health Report

Toronto Public Health --- Dr. Sheela Basrur, Toronto's Medical Officer
of Health, presents her annual State of the City's Health Report to the
Board of Health today.

The report is an update of health trends in the city and calls for a focus
on the health needs of Toronto's most disadvantaged residents.

Dr. Basrur said the report draws attention to growing economic and
social polarization. "In Toronto today, social and economic inequities
must be reduced by supporting those most in need while protecting
the health of the population as a whole. We can only make a difference in
the overall health of all our citizens if we also make gains in those
communities where health outcomes are likely to be much worse."

The report contains numerous indicators of the negative impact of
poverty on public health. "We cannot afford to be complacent about
growing poverty and homelessness in our city," said Dr. Basrur. "The
case must be made that adverse consequences of social neglect
experienced by individuals affect the health of us all."

Dr. Basrur called on the Board of Health and Toronto City Council to
champion the cause of the health of the city's population, particularly
during budget deliberations. "A balance must be achieved where policy
and budget decisions take into account long-term health implications
and social costs."

The report also calls for the Board of Health to advocate for an urban
health focus in provincial and federal policies and funding decisions.
"Maintaining strong public health services brings rewards through lower
social and health costs and an improved quality of life for all residents."

See the background summary of the report's highlights.

For more information contact:
                    Access Toronto
                    416-338-0338







  City maps | Get involved | Toronto links

Visit our Web Site for information about our Seniors Participatory and
Community Quality of Life Projects!  Free Reports Also.

  http://www.utoronto.ca/qol      http://www.utoronto.ca/seniors

  ********************************************************************
  Long have I looked for the truth about the life of people together.
  That life is crisscrossed, tangled, and difficult to understand.
  I have worked hard to understand it and when I had done so
  I told the truth as I found it.

  - Bertolt Brecht
  ********************************************************************

Dennis Raphael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Public Health Sciences
Graduate Department of Community Health
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Room 101
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5S 1A8
voice:    (416) 978-7567
fax: (416) 978-2087
e-mail:   [log in to unmask]