Wales will become a Marmot Nation as part of the Welsh
Government's ongoing work to tackle health inequalities.
This involves adopting public health expert Sir Michael Marmot's
eight principles, which aim to eliminate unfair and avoidable
differences in health which can be caused by where people live,
what kind of job they do and how they are treated in society.
The move follows the success in Torfaen, which was an early
adopter of the Marmot principles when the wider Gwent area became
a Marmot region.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has agreed the Welsh
Government will work with the Institute of Health Equity (IHE),
which is led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and put health
equity at the heart of policy and decision-making across the
Welsh Government.
In practice this will mean working with a number of communities
across Wales to reduce health inequalities using the Marmot
principles, in the same way as Torfaen has done.
This commitment builds on Wales' Well-being of Future Generations
Act, which places a legal duty on public bodies to improve
social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being and
consider the long-term impact of their decisions. The Act
recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The work will focus on adopting the eight Marmot Principles to:
- Give every child the best start in life.
- Enable all children, young people, and adults to maximise
their capabilities and have control over their lives.
- Create fair employment and good work for all.
- Ensure a healthy standard of living for all.
- Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and
communities.
- Strengthen the role and impact of ill health prevention.
- Tackle racism, discrimination, and their outcomes.
- Pursue environmental sustainability and health equity
together.
The Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing , will highlight
Wales' commitment to become a Marmot Nation at the Canada-UK
Council's Fairer Society, Healthier Lives report launch in
Cardiff today (Monday 16 June).
She said: “Becoming a Marmot Nation is about acknowledging that
health inequalities are mostly shaped by the social determinants
of health – the conditions in which people are born, grow, live,
work and age.
“In Torfaen, we can see positive change at community level due to
organisations working together innovatively. By adopting these
eight Marmot principles nationally, we will be taking action
across government to support better health and wellbeing for
all.”
Professor Sir Michael Marmot said:
“A society that meets the needs of its members will have good
health and relatively small inequalities in health.
“Healthcare is, of course, important for health. More important
are social circumstances, as summarised in the eight Marmot
Principles. The policy implications are clear. Health policy is
for the whole of government, not just for the health department
or the NHS.”
Professor Nicolas Maclean, UK Co-Chair, of the
Canada-UK Council said:
“The Canada-UK Council warmly welcomes this important new
initiative by the Welsh Government, which follows our annual
colloquium hosted last December in Cardiff by leaders such as
and .
“The theme of our colloquium, chaired by Sir Michael Marmot, was
‘overcoming unequal health outcomes in the UK and Canada.'
Today's announcement will set an example around the world.”
Notes to editors
- The building a Fairer Gwent initiative has helped children
benefit from initiatives which support early childhood
development and education, and families have access to a network
of support, especially during challenging times. Building a Fairer Gwent:
improving health equity and the social determinants - IHE
- Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Nicolas
Maclean are available for media interviews on Monday.
