Abstract
In 2008, the world’s urban population outnumbered the rural population for the first time. According to United Nations' projections, 83 % of the world's urban population will reside in low- and middle- income countries by 2050. One of the major challenges of rapid unplanned urbanization in developing countries is the rising social and economic inequities, including inequities in health. It is important that local governments and communities are adequately informed about inequities in their cities and their main determinants, in order to facilitate effective interventions. The Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (HEART), developed by WHO, is an evidence-based tool which supports local stakeholders to identify inequities in health, and in their determinants, and to plan action to reduce such inequities. An example of the use of Urban HEART in Ulaanbaatar, a rapidly urbanizing city, demonstrates how the tool can be used to strategically communicate health inequities to a wide audience including decision-makers, and facilitate the development of appropriate actions.
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Prasad, A., Armada, F., Kimura, Y., Radnaabazar, Y., Byambajav, K. (2014). Communicating for Action: Tackling Health Inequity in Urban Areas. In: Okigbo, C. (eds) Strategic Urban Health Communication. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9335-8_10
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