Health inequities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: selected country case studies

Abstract

This report focuses on the available evidence on inequities in health and inequities in socioeconomic determinants that exist both within and across countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. It uses data from the Pan-Arab Project for Child Development (PAPCHILD) and Pan-Arab Project Family Health Survey (PAPFAM). The report aims to assess the extent of health inequality in the Region and identify what contributed to the changing levels of inequalities in the 1990s. The study analyses the role of changing socioeconomic and behavioural characteristics of the population and the changes in health system in contributing to widening or narrowing health inequalities. The analysis is limited to six countries in the Region for which we have data on health outcomes in two points in time (early 1990s and early 2000). Three main research questions were asked as follows. 1. What is the extent of health inequities within and across the countries in the Region? 2. What are the major factors contributing to health inequities within countries? 3. What are the major policy implications or actions that countries should consider given the results of the analysis?

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