Explore health equity through the lenses of economics, policy, and global health challenges - Vulnerability and unmet needs

The differences that create health gaps undermine health equity. They arise from a range of factors, including the circumstances in which we are born and live, such as our housing, education and work. They are often made worse by discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice based on individual-level factors, many of which are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, such as our sex, race, gender or age. Each of these factors can lead to health gaps on their own, but they can also overlap and, in turn, create multiple disadvantages and deepen health inequities.

Health inequities have long been linked to processes and conditions that systematically prevent or restrict population groups from gaining economic, social, political and cultural inclusion. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing health inequities, drawing further attention to structural disadvantage and discrimination. The pandemic has also led to new gaps in areas such as the ability to work from home and digital access, creating emerging drivers of vulnerability and unmet needs. Furthermore, cost of living pressures are having significant impacts that can undermine health inequity, particularly on the poorest households in Wales.

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Page last reviewed: 20th March 2026