Santiago Declaration: Unbalanced austerity has exacerbated health risks and aggravated the downward spiral in economic performance

The Santiago Declaration is a major outcome of "Economic Crisis, Unemployment, Social and Health Effects – and Side Effects – of Action and Inaction”, a conference which took place in Spain in July 2013. Professor Johannes Siegrist of the University of Dusseldorf, partner in the DRIVERS project, was closely involved in its drafting.

The declaration notes that Europe is only just beginning to emerge from the deepest recession in decades, but that the measures taken to tackle it have had dramatic and deleterious effects on the living and working conditions of many people in Europe. This is evidenced by the 26.4 million unemployed people and 9.9 million under-employed people in the EU, the fact that one in four workers in Europe is exposed to stressful work which increases relative risks of cardiovascular disease and depression by 40 and 80 per cent respectively, and that those facing job insecurity have double the risk of stress-related mental and health disorders compared to those in stable jobs.

In consequence, the declaration calls on political leaders across the EU, and in partnership with civil society, scientific, trade union and other stakeholders, to:

• consider health in all actions to tackle the economic crisis;
• maintain and increase spending on social protection;
• recognise the economic benefits of investing in better health-promoting work and employment conditions;
• prioritise investments according to need, with special emphasis on addressing social inequalities in health and reaching the socio-economically deprived, including young people, the long-term unemployed and people with disabilities;
• ensure access to high quality health services, including those concerning mental health;
• support research on the human dimensions of the economic and financial crisis and its management in order to strengthen knowledge and action towards improving population health and productivity.

DRIVERS aims to play a key role in developing policies and practices that promote health and reduce health inequalities not only in the workplace, but also in the early periods of the child's life and through the life course via social protection.

The full declaration is available to download here.