MINISTER OF STATE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH HELPS LAUNCH IMPORTANT NEW WHO
COMMISSION ON SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, IN SANTIAGO, CHILE

OTTAWA, March 18, 2005 -- The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of State
for Public Health, helped formally launch the WHO's new Commission on
Social Determinants of Health today. High-level dignitaries and
representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) member states, the
United Nations, and other international organizations gathered in Santiago
at the invitation of President Lagos of Chile to help launch the
three-year, high-level Commission.

In her remarks, Dr. Bennett recognized the important contribution of Dr.
Jong-wook Lee, Director-General of WHO, who called for the formation of the
Commission at the 2004 World Health Assembly. The Commission marks an
important step forward in finding strategies and means to improve health
care and reduce health inequalities for the world's most vulnerable
populations by acting on social determinants that are often the root causes
of poor health. The Commission will work to turn existing knowledge on
social determinants into actionable global, regional and national policy
agendas.

"Poor living conditions such as poverty, food insecurity, family violence,
inadequate housing, unsafe environmental conditions, social discrimination,
poor working conditions and lack of education go a long way to determining
an individual's level of health and are often the root causes of poor
health", explained Dr. Bennett. "Finding strategies to improve these social
determinants is equally, and in some cases, more important to health status
than medical care and improving personal health behaviours."

Canada has been a world leader in research related to social determinants
of health and has many initiatives underway to apply the population health
knowledge base that it has developed. A key step forward was the recent
creation of the Public Health Agency and the development of the National
Collaborating Centre on Social Determinants of Health, one of six national
collaborating centres across Canada.

Added Dr. Bennett: "It is our hope that the work of the Commission will
make a difference and improve the health and lives of families and
communities in Canada and around the world - especially in developing
countries."

Dr. Bennett also congratulated Monique Begin and Stephen Lewis on their
appointment as Canada's representatives on the Commission.

For more information visit: www.who.int

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