Many governments recognize that factors such as status, education and employment have an impact on people’s health, but few have tackled these social determinants head on. WHO established a commission in March 2005 to come up with recommendations on how countries can address these. One year later, the Commission’s chair Professor Sir Michael Marmot tells in an interview how WHO’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health is helping governments tackle underlying factors to improve the health and well-being particularly of disadvantaged populations.

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