Tim Wilson – Member of the ARC NWC Health Equity Maintenance strategy (HEMS) group

It was reputed that on his death bed Pasteur the exponent of specific aetiology, that diseases have specific causation e.g., a microorganism said “the terrain is everything the microbe is nothing “by the terrain he was perhaps referring to a person’s innate inner immunology. The biome and microbiota and social interaction with their environment – their food and immunological and health defences and the state of the environment, the state of public health provision and the number of inequities a person suffers from.

This blog details some of the issues why the UK has such a high number of deaths and morbidities due to SARS COVID 2, when you compare New Zealand’s 25 deaths, yes only 25, Australia’s 800 Norway and Finland around 500 deaths from co-vid 19 UK’s as of 12/3/21 is officially count 125000 but many experts see Richard Marmot actual think the count nearer to 170,000

Respiratory diseases are diseases of poverty, social diseases, deprivation. Inequities, air pollution, obesity (associated with and inequities poverty) poor working conditions overcrowding , discrimination, poor housing and lack of power create health problems – we have in last 42 neo-liberal years never been “all in it together” – this ideological power (markets, laissez faire, minimal state private good, public bad polarisation started by Thatcher) has contributed to millions of early deaths and un -equal morbidities at relatively early age (sometimes 15 years before those living in affluence). This is a form of structural violence see Galtung 1969 (example since 2010 deliberate austerity) by the state on the people. Globally this ideology has led to climate change and habitat and ecological destruction, the main cause of increasing zoonosis (animal to human transmission Covid 19 is a zoonosis).

The 21st century could be the century of pandemics, ones far worse than Sars 2. Ecological destruction increases inequalities habitat change and climate change and much more. The growth of anti-microbial, resistance (AMR) and factory farming and over prescribing of antibiotics, highly processed food, inflammatory food creating huge health /public health (e.g. obesity) time-bombs. The UK is a main air polluting country particularly in deprived urban areas. There is too much air travel yes inequities and is a disease of destruction and has produced in UK stalk inequalities in health and contributed to pandemic growth by weakening the terrain. Inequities and intersectionality factors (people experience existence structurally) are drivers of inequalities in health.

Read Tim’s full blog here.