An obvious expectation about living in an urban or civilized community or society is that the living conditions will be basically healthy, unless something unusual happens, like water contamination, outbreak of a disease, people often assume the water they buy is safe to drink, the food they buy from a fast food restaurant is basically safe. The aspirin they take for a headache is what the label says it is, and they are not likely to be hit by a car or a bullet.

Public health is not easy to define or comprehend; even experts in this field have experienced difficulty defining it.

Charles-Edward A. Winslow a theoretician and leader of American Public Health during the first half of the 20th Century, defined public health in 1920 this way:

‘’ The science and the art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of community infections, the education of the individuals in principles of personal hygiene, the organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of diseases and the development of social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health’’.

More Nigerians than ever are having access to healthcare thanks to the voices of advocates.

States throughout the nation are making significant progress in helping all kids to be immunized.

These brilliant spots indicate that Nigeria is heading down the road to better health—but they only begin to address the challenges many Nigerians continue to face in accessing good health. Significant gaps and unmet needs remain.

In very plain, easy to understand terms, Health Equity is when everyone (young or old, rich or poor, educated or not educated) has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Nigeria benefits when everyone has the opportunity to live a long, healthy and productive life, yet health disparities persist. A health disparity is a difference in health outcomes across subgroups of the population. Health disparities are often linked to social, economic and environmental disadvantages (e.g less access to good jobs, unsafe neighbourhoods, lack of affordable transportation options).

Unfortunately, this is a reality we at the PHAAE Organization understand all too well. We know that if you are poor, you are 21 percent or more likely to die from heart disease than if you are rich. If you live in the “ghetto” your life is an average of three years shorter than if you live in other high brow areas. And if you live below the poverty line, you are 25 percent more likely than higher-income Nigerians to develop hypertension.