The convergence of three major issues could make long-standing health inequities even more severe. Two years after the pandemic emerged, COVID-19 and global migration emergencies continue to affect society. At the same time, the health of the planet is deteriorating, and trust in our most established institutions is eroding. These developments have disproportionately affected people who have been historically marginalized and who suffer from poorer health overall than other parts of the population as a result of structural flaws and bias.

The Global Health Equity Network (GHEN) was launched in September at the World Economic Forum out of the imperative for private organizations, civil society and governments across the globe and in every industry to collaborate and address these issues. GHEN has a mandate to shape a healthier and more inclusive world by convening executive leaders across sectors and geographies to commit to prioritizing action towards health equity as core to any organization across industries.

Health equity is an outcome in which every individual has the opportunity to achieve their full potential in all aspects of health and well-being. Today, health inequity pervades every community. It exists between and within countries. Significant health disparities — quantifiable differences in health-related outcomes — have been documented across many dimensions, including race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, location and disability status.

Health-focused leaders and businesses embrace the responsibilities and opportunities to make choices that positively affect the health and well-being of all stakeholders with whom their organizations engage: employees and their families; customers; contractors; suppliers; alliance partners; and broader communities. This can be achieved by designing and executing a strategy that places health equity at the center of the business and operations, and expands across four domains: the organization; its offerings; its community; and its ecosystem (see below).

Read the full article about health equity in ESG by Nancy Brown & Punit Renjen & Michelle Williams at GreenBiz.