Addressing health inequities among people living in rural and remote areas
Globally, extreme poverty continues to be overwhelmingly rural, accounting for almost 4 in 5 people living in extreme poverty. Multidimensional poverty is also overwhelmingly rural.
Health inequities experienced by rural populations result from adverse social and environmental determinants, as well as weaker health systems in rural areas. The importance of strengthening the provision of services in rural areas, including health services and those constituting important health determinants, has been highlighted in the UN System Wide Action Plan for the “Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty 2018–2027” and the 2019 UN General Assembly resolution on “Eradicating rural poverty to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
WHO’s work on rural health equity focuses on:
- Primary health care-oriented health systems strengthening through investments in areas such as health workforce and digital health;
- Monitoring health inequalities, mapping barriers to health services, and modelling service accessibility;
- Supporting health sector planning and reviewing health programmes to address inequities;
- Fostering intersectoral and transformative integrated rural development planning to address social and environmental determinants of rural health;
- Building capacity and raising awareness on the importance of tackling rural health inequities; and
- Spearheading research on interventions including rural proofing of national health policies, strategies and plans.
Key partners and collaborators in this work include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice (Rural WONCA), other UN agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Commission, the journal Rural and Remote Health and academic centres focusing on rural health in different countries around the world.
