The big idea: Global health inequalities are the vast, systematic gaps in health and healthcare.
Where the gaps are, and why
- Between countries (rich vs poor nations) and within them (rich vs poor citizens).
- A child born in one country may live decades longer than one born in another — not because of biology.
- The cause is unequal access to medicines, doctors and clean water, and unequal income, gender and geography.
- These gaps are not natural — they are shaped by who has resources and power.
- Between countries — the North–South gap: rich nations have far more doctors, hospitals and medicines than poor ones.
- Within countries — the rich access good care while the poor go without, even in the same city.
- Unequal access — to medicines, trained doctors, clean water and sanitation (the basics of health).
- Determinants of the gap — income, gender (women often face extra barriers), and geography (rural and remote areas underserved).
Health gaps are made, not natural: The huge differences in how long and how well people live are not the product of nature or bad luck — they are the product of unequal conditions. Where clean water, doctors and medicines are scarce, people die of illnesses that are cheaply preventable elsewhere.
The North–South gap
- The North–South gap in health mirrors the gap in wealth and power.
- Poorer countries have fewer resources, weaker systems, and less voice in setting global health priorities.
- So health inequality is a matter of justice — much of it is avoidable.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
The scale is stark: whether you survive childbirth, a treatable infection or a chronic disease depends heavily on where you are born and how much you earn.
Same determinants, same access gap: The same social determinants — income, gender, geography — that shape health also shape who can access care when they fall ill.
The gap between countries (North–South)
Rich countries have many doctors per person, well-stocked hospitals and access to the newest medicines; many poorer countries have a handful of doctors for huge populations, chronic shortages of drugs, and weak systems overwhelmed by preventable disease. The result: people in poorer countries die younger, and from illnesses — diarrhoea, malaria, maternal complications — that are cheap to prevent or treat elsewhere. The gap tracks the global wealth and power divide.
The gap within countries
Inequality is not only between nations. Within a single country — even a single city — the rich access private clinics and medicines while the poor face crowded, under-resourced public services or none at all. Income decides who can afford care and healthy living conditions; gender can add barriers for women; and geography means rural and remote communities are chronically underserved. So identity and place shape health outcomes even where a country is, on average, wealthy.
Case study — how income, gender and geography stack up: Picture two women who fall pregnant. Nothing about biology explains the gap between them.
In a wealthy city
- A nearby hospital, trained staff and money for care.
- Her risk in childbirth is tiny.
Poor, rural and under-prioritised
- She is poor and lives in a remote rural area far from any clinic.
- As a woman in a place where women's health is under-prioritised, she may not be able to reach or afford skilled care.
- Her risk of dying in childbirth is many times higher.
Three factors stack up
Income
Can she afford care?
Geography
Can she reach it?
Gender
Is her health prioritised?
Income, geography and gender stack up — not biology.
Scale it up: Multiply this across whole populations and you have the vast, avoidable inequalities in maternal death, life expectancy and disease between and within countries. It captures the HL lesson: health outcomes are shaped by unequal social and economic conditions, not nature — so the gaps are matters of justice.
The key point: Global health inequalities are the systematic gaps in health and access between countries (the North–South divide) and within them.
Drivers, and why it matters
- They are driven by unequal access to medicines, doctors and clean water.
- They are shaped by income, gender and geography.
- Much of the gap is avoidable — people dying of cheaply preventable illness — so it is a matter of justice, not nature.
Memorize terms 3x faster
Smart flashcards show you cards right before you forget them. Perfect for definitions and key concepts.
Are health inequalities an injustice the world must close — or an unavoidable result of some countries being richer? Should the priority be raising the poorest or narrowing the gap? Weigh it — and recommend.
The case that health inequality is an injustice to be closed
When people die of illnesses that cost little to prevent, and the difference is purely which country or class they were born into, the inequality is avoidable and therefore unjust. The world produces more than enough medicines, knowledge and wealth to close the worst gaps; failing to do so reflects choices about priorities and power. On this view, closing health inequality is a demand of global justice, not charity.
The complication — resources, capacity and responsibility
Others note that poorer countries genuinely have fewer resources and weaker systems, that building hospitals, training doctors and ensuring clean water takes time and sustained investment, and that simply transferring money can create dependency without building lasting capacity. There is also a debate about WHOSE responsibility it is — the poorer state's own governments, or the richer world. So closing the gap is not just a matter of will but of how, and by whom.
One view: an avoidable injustice
- People die of preventable illness because of where they are born.
- So the world has a duty to close the gap.
Another view: resources and capacity
- Gaps partly reflect real differences in resources and capacity.
- Closing them requires building lasting systems, not just transfers.
Two perspectives — weigh them: Strong HL answers judge that the worst health inequalities are unjust and largely closable, because so much is cheaply preventable. So the priority is raising the floor for the poorest while building capacity, rather than treating the gaps as a natural, unchangeable fact.
How health inequalities come up in Paper 3: Paper 3 stimulus might show health data, a North–South gap, or unequal access.
What to do with the stimulus
What drives it
Analyse WHAT drives the gap: income, gender, geography; access to medicines/doctors/water.
Why it is unjust
Explain WHY it's a justice issue.
Recommend
Recommend — usually raise the floor for the poorest + build capacity + tackle the determinants.
What drives it, why it's unjust, what to do.
How Paper 3 rewards you (HL)
Understand
Show you understand the challenge and the stimulus material accurately.
base
Analyse
Break the challenge down — causes, actors, perspectives — using the material.
analyse
Recommend
Propose and justify a course of action — the Paper-3-specific skill.
recommend
Synthesise
Pull the material together into a judged, evaluated response.
top
Recommend how the international community could reduce health inequalities between rich and poor countries.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Common mistakes (Paper 3): 1. Treating health gaps as natural. They're driven by unequal conditions and are largely avoidable.
2. Ignoring within-country inequality. The gap isn't only North–South.
3. Aid-only thinking. Transfers without capacity can create dependency.
4. Only describing. Analyse + recommend.
5. Forgetting income, gender and geography. These drive the gap.