The Road to Health Inclusivity: from policy to practice

This report is based on the findings of the second phase of the Health Inclusivity Index, developed by Economist Impact. The report and research are supported by Haleon.

This research and analysis proceeded from the view that all members of society should have equal and unrestricted opportunities for accessing good physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. The first phase of the Health Inclusivity Index, launched in 2022, was designed to gauge country-level efforts at ensuring these opportunities through the assessment of national policy and key healthcare infrastructure. It provided the first ever snapshot assessing the state of health inclusivity across 40 countries. It assessed the level of health inclusivity in national policies, systems and at the community level, measured against every person’s opportunity to optimise their health.

The second phase of the Index builds on these f indings with the addition of new measures to assess whether inclusive health policies at the national level are translating into lived experience at the community level. To achieve this, Economist Impact conducted a global survey with over 42,000 individuals across the selected countries to gather insights about barriers and experiences while obtaining healthcare and maintaining good health.

This white paper presents the findings from our research and explores what they reveal about the global state of health inclusivity— and exclusion—in policy and in practice. The paper highlights four key themes that emerged through our research and concludes with a series of actions and practical solutions that can be taken by different stakeholders to drive health inclusivity in society as a whole.