Harvard Public Health

In recent years countries across the Americas have made major improvements in health, but while life expectancy has increased and infant and maternal mortality rates have fallen, significant inequalities remain. A new commission launched by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is now examining ways to close those gaps. Members of the commission were recently convened by David Satcher at Morehouse School of Medicine to discuss strategies for achieving health equity. As part of the gathering, Michael Marmot, chair of the commission and one of the world's foremost researchers on health inequality, delivered a keynote address: “How Do You Achieve Change?” In this week's episode, we're sharing that talk, which outlines vast disparities across the Americas—and explains how addressing the social determinants of health can help narrow disparities.