I shall consider three sets of issues. First, I shall
begin by discussing the nature and relevance of
health equity. Second, I shall go on to identify and
scrutinize the distinct grounds on which it has been
claimed that health equity is the wrong policy issue
on which to concentrate. I hope to be able to argue
that these grounds of scepticism do not survive
close scrutiny. Finally, in the section dealing with
general considerations and particular proposals, I
shall consider some difficult issues that have to be
faced for an adequate understanding of the
demands of health equity. It is particularly
important in this context to see health equity as
a very broad discipline which has to accommodate
quite diverse and disparate considerations.