Czech Republic

Country profile

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in central Europe with a population of over 10 million inhabitants. The Czech Republic possesses a developed high-income economy with a GDP per capita of 80% of the European Union average. It has been undergoing significant macroeconomic reforms since 1993, when it split from Czechoslovakia. Health inequalities are a relatively new subject on the political agenda, as during the previous political system the issue was not recognized. This has left a legacy in how the public perceives health inequalities. According to a study conducted by Czech National Institute of Public Health in 2001, only a quarter of society feels that there are differences in health status between different socio-economic groups.

The issue of health inequalities has been researched in academic circles and the publication of WHO Health for All document led to increased interest in the subject matter. However, no official political document exists that would set the strategy to tackle health inequalities. There is also no specialized unit dealing with health inequalities and responsibilities are shared between different ministries.

In 2004 the Czech Republic joined the EU and since then, largely thanks to EU policy and pressure, the social determinants of health inequalities are now being discussed in political documents, in research and in university curricula. However, to date, there is still very little evidence of this translating into practice.

Policy responses

In the Czech Republic the issue of health inequalities has not been afforded high priority on the political agenda due to a lack of good quality data that shows that health inequalities exist across the whole society. Due to the lack of awareness surrounding the issue policies that have been implemented address the issue implicitly, and explicit policy responses have not been put in place as yet.

An overview of policy responses addressing health inequalities in can be found in our Policy Database.

Good practices

Key actors

Please find below an overview of key actors in Czech Republic working on health inequality issues:

• Ministry of Health

• Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

• Ministry for Education, Youth and Sport

• Healthy Cities of the Czech Republic Association

• National Institute of Public Health (SZU)

• Centre of Health Information and Statistics
   

Are you aware of any other key actors that should be added to this list? 
Please let us know!

Key resources

Please find below an overview of relevant documents addressing health inequality issues in Czech Republic. Further publications can be found in our Publications Database.

• Národní zpráva o strategiích sociální ochrany a sociálního začleňování - National Report on strategies for social protection and social inclusion 2008-2010. Document from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs providing an overview of the current situation, national action plan for social inclusion, national strategy for pensions, national strategy for health care and long term care.

• Nerovnosti ve zdraví – Health Inequalities. Web page of National Institute of Public Health including information on ongoing projects, documents, presentations and events.

• Zdraví menšin - Health of minorities. National Institute of Public health web page with information, documents, reports, events on the topic.

• Akční plán realizace Koncepce včasné péče o děti ze sociálně znevýhodňujícího prostředí - Action plan for early care for children from socially disadvantaged environment (2009).

• ZDRAVÍ 21 - the National public health strategy

• Statistics, indicators and surveys published regularly by the Czech statistical office

• Statistic, indicators and survey results published regularly by the Institute of Health Information and Statistic of the Czech Republic
   

Are you aware of any other key resources that should be added to this list?
Please let us know!