Case studies - The WHO European Health Equity Status Report Initiative (2019)

The WHO Europe Health Equity Status Report Initiative (HESRi) case studies include success stories, promising practices and lessons learned from the local, national and European levels that show how countries have:

1. overcome the challenges related to disinvestment in policies and approaches that impact on health equity, and
2. maximized new opportunities for advancing objectives to increase equity in health.

The case studies provide examples of the specific application of intersectoral policy actions and leading equity processes across government and with wider civil society, that are reducing exposures to and the consequences of five key risks which lead to inequities in health. The risks are aligned with the HESRi Analytical Framework (due to be published in September 2019) and the essential conditions needed to be able to live a healthy live in Europe in the 21st century. The cases emphasize the importance of using a combination of policies and services, of the health sector and health sector-led initiatives, and of involving local people, the social economy and wider society.

The cases are structured using the following headings: Description of the intervention; How the case study creates the conditions to prosper and flourish and reduces the barriers that are holding people back in health and in life; Relevant HESRi indicators; Links to the HESRi evidence informed policy action areas; and Links to HESRi Drivers.

This publication is intended to stimulate and support action in Member States of the WHO European Region, and to support dialogue for action on health equity with ministries of health and with stakeholders representing the whole of government and the whole of society.