GLOBAL HEALTH RESPONSES TO REDUCE INEQUALITIES IN ADDRESSING HEALTH CRISES

Introduction: Global health inequalities remain a persistent structural challenge, significantly intensified during recent health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These disparities occur both between and within countries and are deeply rooted in socioeconomic, environmental, technological, and historical factors, including colonial legacies. Despite international commitments aimed at promoting equity, global health responses have proven insufficient to address the structural determinants that perpetuate these inequities, revealing limitations in traditional public health intervention models. Objective: To analyze how global health responses have addressed inequalities in the management of health crises, highlighting structural gaps and discussing the need for more equitable and integrated approaches. Methodology: This study consists of a qualitative and comparative analysis based on recent scientific literature, institutional documents, and global indicators such as the Global Health Security Index, combining qualitative and quantitative data to examine patterns of inequality in crisis contexts. Results and Discussion: The findings demonstrate that countries with lower structural preparedness experienced disproportionate impacts during the pandemic, with unequal access to essential resources such as vaccines and medical supplies. Global responses prioritized market-based solutions and proximal interventions, neglecting broader social, political, and economic determinants, which contributed to the deepening of health inequities. Conclusion: It is concluded that the effective reduction of global health inequalities requires a conceptual and practical reorientation of current strategies, with a focus on the structural determinants of health, strengthening of national health systems, and international cooperation grounded in social justice and equity.