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What is Health and Social Equity and why is it important?

Life and Death from Unnatural Causes: A Full ReportOver the past decade, there have been sustained health improvements for many residents of Alameda County. This is good news. And yet while overall health has improved, serious health inequities persist. Health inequities are defined as differences in health that are unnecessary, avoidable, unfair and unjust. Health inequities are related to both a history of overt discriminatory actions, as well as present-day practices and policies that perpetuate diminished opportunity and hazardous exposures for certain populations.

The Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII), a collaborative of eight health departments, including Alameda County, has a framework for understanding health inequities. To address health inequities, we must tackle broader social inequalities - access to power, resources, and opportunities – all of which determine the distribution of health and disease within the population.

Alameda County
Public Health Department

1000 Broadway, Suite 500
Oakland, CA 94607

Anthony Iton, MD, JD, MPH
Director & Health Officer

Comments, questions:
Phone: (510 )267-8020

Media inquiries:
Sherri Willis
Public Information Officer
Phone: (510) 267-8001
Email: sherri.willis@acgov.org