India reiterated its commitment to enhance Social Determinants of Health during the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force High-Level Meeting held at the 79^th session of UN General Assembly.

Social Determinants of Health (SDH)

• SDH are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. 
  • They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.
  • These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems.
• Examples of SDH: Education, income and social protection, unemployment and job insecurity, working conditions, food insecurity, housing, early childhood development, social inclusion, etc.
• WHO Commission on SDH aims to achieve three guiding targets by 2040: 
  • Halving life expectancy gap between countries and social groups, 
  • Halving adult mortality rates in all countries, and 
  • Achieve 90-95% reductions in child and maternal mortality.

Role of SDH in Health Outcomes

• Numerous studies suggest that SDH accounts for between 30-55% of health outcomes. 
• Influences health inequities - unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.
• In countries at all levels of income, health and illness follow a social gradient: the lower the socioeconomic position, the worse the health.