title: Global Equity Gauge Alliance: reflections on early experiences.
abstract: The paper traces the evolution and working of the Global Equity Gauge Alliance (GEGA) and its efforts to promote health equity. GEGA places health equity squarely within a larger framework of social justice, linking findings on socioeconomic and health inequalities with differentials in power, wealth, and prestige in society. The Alliance's 11 country-level partners, called Equity Gauges, share a common action-based vision and framework called the Equity Gauge Strategy. An Equity Gauge seeks to reduce health inequities through three broad spheres of action, referred to as the 'pillars' of the Equity Gauge Strategy, which define a set of interconnected and overlapping actions. Measuring and tracking the inequalities and interpreting their ethical import are pursued through the Assessment and Monitoring pillar. This information provides an evidence base that can be used in strategic ways for influencing policy-makers through actions in the Advocacy pillar and for supporting grassroots groups and civil society through actions in the Community Empowerment pillar. The paper provides examples of strategies for promoting pro-equity policy and social change and reviews experiences and lessons, both in terms of technical success of interventions and in relation to the conceptual development and refinement of the Equity Gauge Strategy and overall direction of the Alliance. To become most effective in furthering health equity at both national and global levels, the Alliance must now reach out to and involve a wider range of organizations, groups, and actors at both national and international levels. Sustainability of this promising experiment depends, in part, on adequate resources but also on the ability to attract and develop talented leadership.
authors.affiliation: MedAct, 601 Holloway Road, London N19 4DJ, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: Lexi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bambas
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acurio
authors.forename: Banza
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baya
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhuiya
authors.forename: A Mushtaque R
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: Siriwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grisurapong
authors.forename: Yuanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ngom
authors.forename: Thabale J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ngulube
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ntuli
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: Abhay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.forename: Paula A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Braveman
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003254:Consumer Advocacy / Q000941:ethics*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003906:Developing Countries; D014943:Global Health; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D011203:Poverty; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors