Achieving Health Equity: Overcoming Barriers to Care for Underserved and Systematically Marginalized and Excluded Populations

Dear Colleagues,

There have been longstanding global health inequities. For instance, there is an 18-year difference in life expectancy between high- and low-income countries. Child and maternal mortality rates are more than eight times higher in the African region compared to the European region, and maternal mortality rates are also disproportionately higher in developing countries [1]. Moreover, premature deaths from non-communicable (e.g., cancer) diseases occur in low- and middle-income countries [1,2]. Within countries, these health inequities are exacerbated based on race and ethnicity, education, income, and even access. Positive health outcomes for all should be equally valued regardless of national borders, gender, race or ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, income, tribe, ability, or other stratifications. There is ample evidence that health disparities are influenced by inequities in our social and physical environments, which were more clearly revealed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic [3]. Health goes beyond health care, and equity is the just and fair allocation of resources according to need [4]. To achieve health equity, we must consider the social influences on health globally, which draw on political, social, environmental, and economic spheres that interplay to shape health and health outcomes. Papers addressing or critically assessing health disparities in the pursuit of achieving health equity are invited to be included in this Special Issue, especially those examining interventions, environment, policies, or social influencers of health stratified or focused on modifiable (e.g., income, access) and non-modifiable factors (e.g., age, race, and ethnicity).

Reference

1. World Health Organization (22 Feb 2018). Health inequities and their causes. https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/health-inequities-and-their-causes (acccessed on 10 December 2025).
2. Bray, F., Laversanne, M., Sung, H., Ferlay, J., Siegel, R.L., Soerjomataram, I., Jemal, A. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2024, 74(3), 229–263. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21834.
3. Bambra, C., Riordan, R., Ford, J., Matthews, F. The COVID-19 pandemic and health inequalities. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2020, 74(11), 964–968. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214401.
4. Maani, N., Abdalla, S. M., Ettman, C.K., Parsey, L., Rhule, E., Allotey, P., Galea, S. Global Health Equity Requires Global Equity. Health Equity. 2023, 7(1), 192–196. https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2022.0169.

Dr. Keyonna M. King
Guest Editor

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