Welcome to the LSE Events podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Get ready to hear from some of the most influential international figures in the social sciences.
So welcome everyone.
My name is Larry Kramer.
I am the president, I have to look at the notes right.
I am the president and vice chancellor here at the London School of Economics.
And it's my privilege and pleasure to welcome you all to this very, very special event this evening.
Tonight's annual LSE Health lecture.
This year LSE Health is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Which for anybody who's been in a university knows that's an incredible record for any research center.
Over the past three decades LSE Health has established itself as one of the world's major bridges between health research and policy making,
consistently producing research and scholarship that's taken up for health policy decision making at the highest national and international levels.
The subject of tonight's lecture is very much in keeping them with the best traditions of the center.
So most of you may know this.
The term social gradient in health is a term that's used to describe the persistent,
pervasive correlation between health and socioeconomic status.
It's a phenomenon that naturally is of great interest to an institution like ours which is focused on the social sciences.
You can observe the social gradient in health both within and across localities and at the local,
regional, national and global levels.
So then the question is what can be done about it.