Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
1323rd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 3 July 2024
“Social Justice and Health Equity”
Professor Sir Michael Marmot CH FRCP FFPHM FMedSci FBA
Professor of Epidemiology and Director, UCL Institute of Health Equity
University College London
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/1323rd-ogm-and-open-lecture
The presentation commences at 03:37
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:03:37 Presentation: Professor Sir Michael Marmot
00:42:43 Audience Q&A session: moderated by Dr Susan Pond
01:08:23 Meeting Close
Summary
Taking action to reduce health inequalities is a matter of social justice. In developing strategies for tackling health inequalities we need to confront the social gradient in health not just the difference between the worst off and everybody else. There is clear evidence when we look across countries that national policies make a difference and that much can be done in cities, towns, and local areas. But policies and interventions must not be confined to the health care system; they need to address the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. The evidence shows that economic circumstances are important but are not the only drivers of health inequalities. Tackling the health gap will take action, based on sound evidence, across the whole of society.
Sir Michael Marmot has been Professor of Epidemiology at University College London since 1985 and is Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity. He is the author of The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World (Bloomsbury: 2015), and Status Syndrome (Bloomsbury: 2004). He is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2019–), and co-Director of the of the CUHK Institute of Health Equity. He is the recipient of 20 honorary doctorates. Marmot has led research groups on health inequalities for nearly 50 years. He chaired the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, WHO Regional Commissions, and reviews on tackling health inequality for UK governments. He is former President of the British Medical Association (2010–2011), and former President of the World Medical Association (2015). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen, for services to epidemiology and the understanding of health inequalities. He was appointed a Companion of Honour for services to public health in the 2023 New Year Honours.
1323rd Ordinary General Meeting and Open Lecture of the Royal Society of NSW — 3 July 2024
“Social Justice and Health Equity”
Professor Sir Michael Marmot CH FRCP FFPHM FMedSci FBA
Professor of Epidemiology and Director, UCL Institute of Health Equity
University College London
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/1323rd-ogm-and-open-lecture
The presentation commences at 03:37
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FAHMS, President, Royal Society of NSW
00:03:37 Presentation: Professor Sir Michael Marmot
00:42:43 Audience Q&A session: moderated by Dr Susan Pond
01:08:23 Meeting Close
Summary
Taking action to reduce health inequalities is a matter of social justice. In developing strategies for tackling health inequalities we need to confront the social gradient in health not just the difference between the worst off and everybody else. There is clear evidence when we look across countries that national policies make a difference and that much can be done in cities, towns, and local areas. But policies and interventions must not be confined to the health care system; they need to address the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. The evidence shows that economic circumstances are important but are not the only drivers of health inequalities. Tackling the health gap will take action, based on sound evidence, across the whole of society.
Sir Michael Marmot has been Professor of Epidemiology at University College London since 1985 and is Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity. He is the author of The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World (Bloomsbury: 2015), and Status Syndrome (Bloomsbury: 2004). He is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2019–), and co-Director of the of the CUHK Institute of Health Equity. He is the recipient of 20 honorary doctorates. Marmot has led research groups on health inequalities for nearly 50 years. He chaired the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, WHO Regional Commissions, and reviews on tackling health inequality for UK governments. He is former President of the British Medical Association (2010–2011), and former President of the World Medical Association (2015). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen, for services to epidemiology and the understanding of health inequalities. He was appointed a Companion of Honour for services to public health in the 2023 New Year Honours.


