Leaders in North Cumbria have signed up to and joined Lancashire and South Cumbria Health Equity Commission (HEC).

The Health Equity Commission now covers the whole of Lancashire and Cumbria. They aim to help improve the health and wellbeing of nearly 2 million residents across the region. The HEC has now been renamed as the Lancashire and Cumbria Health Equity Commission.

The Health Equity Commission was set up in early 2021 by health and care leaders who wanted to improve health inequalities and make a change in people’s health and wellbeing. The Chair of the Health Equity Commission is Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology at University College London, Director of the University College London Institute of Health Equity, and Past President of the World Medical Association.

Colin Cox, Director of Public Health at Cumbria County Council, said: “I am delighted that the Health Equity Commission now covers the whole of Cumbria. Taking to reduce health inequalities and create healthy and sustainable communities is at the core of public health and the Commission will help us identify practical ways of doing that.

“The reduction of health inequalities is everyone's business and health inequality is neither necessary nor fair.”