These studies largely relied on concentration curves to determine where inequity (a data point above the line of equality) was greatest or lowest, and found that western China led the trend, followed by middle and eastern China [ 8].
This provides a great opportunity to ensure that local decision making genuinely responds to the needs of the most vulnerable and addresses issues of inequity; while national data can often disguise disparities, local information and evidence can best identify where critical gaps lie – and help design the most effective solutions.
Adjustment for such factors would help us to understand why the observed inequities exist, but data are not available from the private sector, we have no information on willingness, and although data on comorbidities are available it is unclear what would make a patient an unsuitable candidate for surgery given improvements in modern anaesthesia, surgical techniques, and prosthesis survival.
Data by indicators of ethnic group are needed to establish the extent of health inequalities and inequity in health service provision.
Does it fight inequalities (inequities)?
In particular, there are few data on inequities within populations, so that solutions are seldom focused on the people who need them most.
Held at UNICEF headquarters in New York, the signature event – a high-level panel entitled, 'Children and the MDGs: Reaching the Most Vulnerable' – focused on recent data revealing inequities that still exist for children in the developing world.
However, there is a global dearth of high-quality, policy-relevant and actionable data on inequities within populations, which means that development solutions seldom focus on the people who need them most.
A picture of inequity emerges from the available data.
The recent report from the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) also provides comprehensive data on the inequity in health outcomes for the poorer members of society [ 75].
