The meaning and goals of equity in health.

Mooney, in his review article entitled “What does equity in health mean?”, stated that “ . . .clarifying what equity means or should mean is a difficult but important task”. After noting that “various definitions and dimensions are possible”, however, he concluded that “it is difficult to say which is correct—what is “right” is a value laden question”. Are we making any more progress in clarifying this concept since that time? It is obvious and is now widely accepted that equity differs from equality. Noting that World Health Organisation documents used the term “equity in health” to refer to differences in health that are unnecessary, avoidable, unfair, and unjust, Whitehead offered the following working definition: