One street in Johannesburg, South Africa separates the informal settlement of Kya Sands from the middle class suburb of Bloubosrand.Credit: Martin Harvey/ Photodisc/ Getty Images
Interventions that prioritise income inequality among other social determinants of health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are urgently needed to help develop pandemic preparedness, according to a multicountry observational study published in BMJ Global Health.
The researchers from Canada, Ghana, Kenya, the United States, and Switzerland, say that pandemic preparedness and responses must be tailored to highly unequal societies, with a focus on income inequality as a critical social determinant of health.
John Ele-Ojo Ataguba from Ghana-based Africa Health Economics and Policy Association, and colleagues, assessed the relationship between income inequality and HIV incidence, AIDS and COVID-19 mortality, using a sample of national data from 217 countries; a subsample of African countries; and another subsample excluding African countries.
Whereas a significant relationship existed between income inequality and HIV incidence in all the three samples, it was higher in the African sample than the rest of the world. Beyond highlighting this association, the researchers conclude it is vital to delve into the underlying mechanisms through which income inequality shapes health outcomes during pandemics. Widening income gaps can exacerbate the “othering” of affected populations, hampering universal responses. Income disparities can push vulnerable people into higher-risk situations.
