What is the main objective of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health?

• A. To reduce health inequities by addressing conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.
• B. To promote new medical technologies.
• C. To increase hospital beds.
• D. To reduce costs of medications.

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is that health is shaped by social and economic conditions, and the Commission’s purpose is to reduce inequities by tackling the environments in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health was formed to study how these social factors—like income, education, housing, work conditions, gender and discrimination, and access to resources—drive unequal health outcomes and to push for policies that improve those underlying conditions. This approach emphasizes upstream changes to society and governance to create fairer opportunities for health, rather than focusing solely on medical care or health system inputs.

That makes the option about reducing health inequities through improvements in living conditions the best fit. While promoting new medical technologies, increasing hospital beds, or reducing medication costs are important parts of health systems, they don’t capture the Commission’s central aim of addressing the root social factors that create broad differences in health across populations.