Objectives/functions

The objective of the Social and Economic Determinants of Health (SDH) Programmes is to provide technical support to Member States and WHO to reduce health equity gap through action on the determinants of health.

The functions of the programme are:

• To strengthen the capacity of Member States to mainstream health equity in priority public health conditions and non-health sectors such as education, agriculture, transportation and gender among others;
• To establish mechanisms for the empowerment of individuals, families and communities to enable them to improve their health knowledge and skills in order to take control over their health and its determinants;
• To promote intra and intersectoral actions among Member States and in WHO to collectively address social and economic determinants of priority public health issues , health systems strengthening and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the context of revitalizing primary health care (PHC);
• To promote and support partnerships, alliances and networks at national, regional and global levels with public, private, nongovernmental and international organizations to create sustainable actions to mobilize resources and advocate for reducing the health equity gap through action on social and economic determinants of health;
• To generate and document qualitative and quantitative evidence including social, cultural and behavioral aspects likely to hinder or promote behavior change conducive to desired health outcomes, and to apply the findings in programmes and policies;
• To facilitate the exchange of experiences in addressing social and economic determinants of health among countries of the African Region and partners;
• To advocate for the promotion of social responsibility by the corporate (private) sector in order to promote and protect health and well-being of their employees, their families and communities.