Health justice

Our strategic focus on health resonates strongly with the direction of the CHOGM 2022 Communiqué and continues to be affirmed by civil society as a major priority for the people of the Commonwealth. By focusing on health justice, the Foundation recognises persistent inequities in the provision and quality of healthcare and the obligation of the Commonwealth to acknowledge and seek to address these inequities. Health justice identifies and acknowledges the social determinants of health, as well as the structural barriers that hinder equal access to quality healthcare.

The Foundation’s approach to health explicitly seeks to reduce inequities in the provision of health services within and between countries and regions and works to advance the realisation of universal healthcare (UHC). Progress towards UHC has suffered a serious setback as a result of the global health crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Across all regions and many countries of the Commonwealth, the impacts of the pandemic were unevenly distributed. Several projects supported by the Foundation have helped to shed light on why it is so important to improve access to health and health services for vulnerable groups such as women and girls, people living with disabilities and young people.

In response, the Foundation is redoubling our commitment to prioritising health in our grant-making: supporting civil society organisations to engage in and influence more inclusive and equitable health policy and practice. We will also continue to use our platforms to amplify civil society and creative voices on health: placing civil society at the centre of discussion and debate around addressing inequalities in healthcare across the Commonwealth.