Health officials shared their working experience of sustainable development goals, health measurement and control and health equality at a parallel session of the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion on social protection policies, on Nov 22.

Experts agreed that health is an essential human right and should be for all, and that the reduction of health inequality in all age groups should be actively targeted. 

Tone Togersen, Directorate of Health in Norway advocated that detailed and practical measures should be taken to address health inequality, especially among disadvantaged and high risk groups. She also said that incentive measures should be taken to encourage action across government sectors and all-round health index monitoring should be established.

Policies and monitoring experience from Indonesia were shared by Anung Sugihantono, Director General of the country's Ministry of Health. As the Shanghai Declaration states, health management, health policy making and the healthy city concept are essential principles of governance, and Indonesia's target is to realize health care for all and in an equal way. In 2011, the country ratified a policy that will allow children to live in healthy environments. Anung emphasized the importance of advancing the awareness of community health.

Absolute equality of health care for all was not possible, said Evgeny Shlyakhto, director of National Centre of Cardiovascular Medicine and Chief Cardiologist from Russian Federation. He suggested health care should be based on each case and be patient-oriented, for example, using information technology to monitor incidence rate in different areas and the transportation factors around the patient. After such analysis, said Shlyakhto, patients can be sent to the proper hospital based on the information.

Chile started its "health care for all" policy in 1952. Poverty relief policy, knowledge development for children and supporting programs for families with expecting mothers in Chile were introduced at the session by Jeanette Vega, director of the National Chilean Public Health Insurance Agency.