We welcome Dr Tom Black’s honest reflection on how deprivation leads to poor health and early death. His article reinforces what many of us in the progressive and social justice movements have long known: inequality kills. In Northern Ireland the evidence is stark. Men in the most deprived areas live on average seven years less than those in the least deprived, and women live almost five years less. People in the poorest communities not only die younger but also spend many more years living in poor health. The Workers Party rejects the idea that these statistics are inevitable.

Poverty is not just about income. It means insecure work, low pay, poor housing, unaffordable energy, and overstretched public services. It means families relying on food banks in record numbers, children going to school hungry, and people living in cold, damp homes that damages their health and dignity. These are not individual failings but the direct consequence of political and economic decisions that have failed working-class communities for generations.

The Effects of poverty on both physical and mental health are devastating. Cold homes, poor nutrition, and constant financial stress weaken the immune system and increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and respiratory illness. The strain of poverty and the constant worry about now to make ends meet lead to higher rates of anxiety, depression, social isolation, and substance abuse.

Preventable deaths are almost three times higher in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived, and deaths from suicide and drug misuse are more than twice as common. This reality affects communities across the island. These figures represent real lives lost and communities in pain.

People in deprived areas also face greater barriers to healthcare, with fewer GP services, longer waiting times, and reduced access to preventative care. When the health service is overstretched or underfunded, it is those with the least who suffer the most.

The sad reality is that things will continue to get worse. The cost-of-living crisis has deepened the situation. Rising prices have pushed more people into poverty and forced impossible choices, denying many the basic conditions to stay well. When people cannot afford the essentials, their health inevitably suffers. Children growing up in deprivation face poorer health, disrupted learning, and fewer opportunities as adults. Which can continue the cycle of inequality and ill health from one generation to the next. Successive governments, North and South, have deepened inequality by cutting public services, weakening social welfare, and putting private profit before the public good. Health inequality is not accidental. It is the predictable result of an economy that values profit over people.

If we are serious about improving health, we must confront poverty at it roots through a real living wage, secure work, strong trade unions, and major investment in housing, education, healthcare, and public transport. Poverty is created by policy, not by people.

Real change will only come through working class unity and collective action, by standing together and demanding a society that values people over profit. The Workers Party know all to well that the task before us is to build a socialist system that protects the health, equality, and dignity of all, and gives every person the chance to live well.