It is important to distinguish between the
achievement and capability, on the one side, and
the facilities socially offered for that achievement
(such as health care), on the other. To argue for
health equity cannot be just a demand about how
health care, in particular, should be distributed
(contrary to what is sometimes presumed). The
factors that can contribute to health achievements
and failures go well beyond health care, and
include many influences of very different kinds,
varying from genetical propensities, individual
incomes, food habits and life styles, on the one
hand, to the epidemiological environment and
work condition, on the other.b Recently, Sir
Michael Marmot and others have also brought
out the far-reaching effects of social inequality on
health and survival [5–7]. We have to go well
beyond the delivery and distribution of health care
to get an adequate understanding of health
achievement and capability. Health equity cannot
be understood in terms of the distribution of health
care.