President’s Letter

Abstract

Reducing health inequalities between individuals, communities and populations is a central tenet of public health and health promotion. Inequality exists – and will always exist – throughout life; it is the extent and nature of the inequality that can have significant consequences for the health and life chances of people. Inequality may sometimes be difficult to measure, but what is known is that the greater gap, the greater the impact. It takes many forms; from the basic human needs of access to clean water, nutritional food, adequate housing to more subtle inequalities including access to a first class education or the better life chances conferred to those born to affluent parents. I grew up on the Wirral Peninsula, a small spit of land in the North West of England situated between the rivers Dee and Mersey. It has been described as a microcosm of the social and economic map of England. Divided by a motorway, there are communities to the north where 41% are living in poverty, compared with 19.9% average for the rest of England (Wirral Compendium of Statistics 2017) and where there are schools with almost 100% of children receiving free school meals. Within a mile there are houses valued at more than one million pounds sterling. This juxtaposition of wealth and deprivation is perhaps the most corrosive form of inequality. Wirral has a proud industrial past; shipping and ship building were major employers in the last and previous centuries and Lever Brothers (William and James Lever) was founded in 1885 on the banks of the Mersey with the manufacture of Sunlight Soap and other laundry products. William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) was a philanthropic if paternalistic employer, with a social conscience. He provided subsidized housing for his employees in a model village along with excellent working conditions and support for retired workers, although historically, Lever Brothers was not such a benign employer in other parts of the world. What Lever understood was that provision of a universally acceptable standard of living for his employees supported a healthy and motivated workforce – and was of benefit to both them and his business. The legacy of his approach can be seen in both the success of the company he founded (now Unilever, a global giant with brands in many product areas) and the beautiful village of Port Sunlight which is visited by students of social science from around the world. Safe and readily available water is important for public health, whether for drinking, domestic use, food production or recreational purposes. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost counINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION 2019, VOL. 57, NO. 1, 48–51 https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2019.1560116