Health equity means ensuring that everyone, regardless of their socio-economic, racial or gender identity, has access to high quality healthcare services. It is about removing the structural barriers that prevent people from accessing care and addressing the underlying causes of health disparities among different population groups. In my opinion, health equity is an essential element of a just society and should be taken seriously by governments, policy makers and healthcare providers alike.

Health inequity occurs when differences in health outcomes are generated due to unfair or unjust conditions; this could mean that certain communities experience higher rates of chronic illnesses or mortality than others due to social injustice or neglect from decision makers. These inequities have been reflected in various studies which suggest significant disparities in terms of access to health resources based on race/ethnicity as well as between rural and urban areas within countries. For example, research has indicated that Black Americans are more likely to experience poorer physical and mental health outcomes than White people due to institutional racism in the US which limits these communities’ access to quality healthcare services. Additionally, research conducted on immigrant populations living in Europe show similarly concerning levels of health inequality despite more equitable infrastructure being available compared with other regions where such disparities exist at much larger scales.