Alfonso Lara Montero represented the European Social Network (ESN) at a recent workshop organised by EuroHealthNet on 4 July. The advocacy consultation workshop was part of the activities of DRIVERS, a European research project aimed to develop recommendations to reduce health inequalities through early childhood development, working conditions and employment, income and social protection.

Discussions focused on how to advocate for health equity as well as who is best placed to do so, to whom and when. At the meeting, participants discussed the human rights approach, the importance of health as a social value and the sustainability of the welfare systems.

In its previous work on mental health, ESN has identified two types of arguments for making the case for health equity. There is a moral case, supported by the differences in health between population groups, as argued in an ESN report on mental health, which highlighted that “people with long-term mental health problems are likely to die 20 years earlier than their contemporaries.”

There is also a strong economic argument supported by evidence of the impact of health problems on the economy, the costs of lack of prevention in disability and mental health, and estimates of indirect costs (or the costs of not intervening) versus direct costs. As ESN's Alfonso Lara Montero argued at the meeting, “in this context, evidence –rebalancing quantitative with qualitative information – is a strong argument to ensure the success of advocacy efforts.” 

There is sufficient evidence to support the efforts to reduce health inequalities. Recently at the 21st European Social Services Conference in Dublin, Sir Michael Marmot, Director at the University College London Institute of Health in the UK, reviewed the framework for action for a fairer and healthier society. He looked at the level of deprivation in each UK local authority and identified local government as key in avoiding health inequalities. He also talked about the close relationship between deprivation and the lack of good child development (with only 56% of children having good development in England), between the lack of spending on social protection and the increase in unemployment and suicide rates.

With regards to the evaluation of the success of advocacy efforts, it is also important to:

• Take account of the political context and political mandates when addressing policy makers


• Address institutional stakeholders from different levels (European, local, regional and national)


• Build alliances of different actors united by a common aim


 

Find out more about the workshop here.