UCL academic invested as Companion of Honour

The distinction was founded by King George V in 1917 and recognises outstanding achievements in the arts, sciences, medicine and public service over an extended period, and is limited to just 65 people at any given time.

Sir Michael, the Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity, has conducted groundbreaking research on the social determinants of health for 50 years, linking health inequalities to the circumstances in which we are born, grow, live, work and age.

He is the author of several influential reviews concerning health inequalities within England and the broader UK context. The seminal report Fair Society, Healthy Lives, commissioned by the UK government and released in 2010, fundamentally shifted discourse on health inequalities in the UK and internationally, giving rise to a new commitment from service providers and health professionals to reducing health inequalities and addressing the social determinants of health.

A decade later, Marmot Review 10 Years On scrutinised the widening health inequalities in the UK during years of austerity measures, while Build Back Fairer reiterated the importance of addressing these entrenched inequalities nine months into the Covid-19 pandemic.

As well as being knighted in 2000, Sir Michael is the recipient of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Hero Award and chaired the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health in 2008, again showing his dedication to advancing dialogues about health inequalities on an international stage.

Some of Sir Michael’s more recent activities include co-chairing a new Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, created by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), announced in June 2023. Earlier that year in January, he launched the UK’s first health equity network, which seeks to ease health-related crises, including rising child poverty, increasing health inequalities and falling life expectancy.

Sir Michael said: “This award recognises the crucial importance of transparency regarding societal issues in Britain; and the centrality of evidence on health inequalities, and their link to social determinants of health. To be recognised for highlighting the social gradient in health, working to understand its causes, and leading efforts to improve health is, of course, a particular pleasure.”

The ceremony was held at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, February 6, with the honour bestowed on Sir Michael by Princess Anne.

He continued: “During my career, I have scrutinised government policy and been critical where the evidence has shown it to be necessary. Receiving this award symbolises an acknowledgement of the indispensable role truth and evidence play in fostering thoughtful discourse on public health in Britain. The support I have received from UCL, with its esteemed global reputation, has been invaluable.”

Links

• Professor Sir Michael Marmot's academic profile
• UCL Institute of Health Equity
• UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care
• UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences
• Companion of Honour award

Image

• The Crown holds the copyright to the image. British Ceremonial Arts Limited (BCA) is the owner of the photograph.

Media contact

Tom Cramp

E: t.cramp@ucl.ac.uk