Brussels, 20/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 18 March, Health Commissioner Tony Borg indicated that, in the coming weeks, the European Commission would be launching joint action against cancer to improve access to care and screening. This is an example of what the Commission can do to reduce health care inequality in the European Union. The commissioner was addressing a conference in Brussels on the theme of improving health care access, Health in Europe - Making it fairer. He acknowledged that further action had to be envisaged to ensure that health care access for all became a reality because the gap in the health care field between, for example, rich and poor and between certain social groups has not been reduced over recent years, quite the contrary. He said that “there is still a long way to go to fight all forms of discrimination and ensure equality and fairness in health”. According to the commissioner, it is particularly important to develop integrated polices at national level because many social and educational factors lead to inequality in health. Policies must also focus particular attention on disadvantaged groups or those suffering prejudice and which are likely to experience health care access difficulties: ethnic minorities and migrants, particularly the Roma; persons with disabilities, psychological problems, AIDS or other chronic illnesses, people who are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, gender or age; the poor, those experiencing the full force of the crisis, particularly the unemployed. Borg stressed that “making health fairer in Europe is not something governments and institutions can do acting alone. Neither can it be achieved overnight. It requires a genuine partnership and sustained application across society”. (IL)