Thirty-six years after the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS), Brazil is still strongly marked by health inequities. In this issue, 3 articles address various aspects associated with health inequities: The unfair economic and racial differentials related to mortality due to the most prevalent cancers; The access of homeless people to the various health services in Belo Horizonte; The situation regarding the access to mental health services of homeless people. These articles will be followed in future issues by others dealing with the unequal distribution of epidemiological risks and profiles, and organized strategies for tackling these inequalities.

As indicated in the article dealing with the distribution of the most prevalent neoplasms, the risk of death due to cervical cancer was 8.5% higher for black women than for white women. For all causes, it was seen that mortality increased with age.

The article on the access of homeless people to the SUS presented results that recommend the structuring of a multidisciplinary and intersectoral Health Care Network, based on the territorialization and longitudinality of care and adopting the expanded clinical approach. The model of care that emerges in this study is consistent with that observed in the scientific literature by the following study, which deals with the barriers and facilitators experienced by the homeless when accessing mental health services. In addition to factors related to the use of alcohol and other drugs, most of the factors are linked to the conditions and lifestyles of this population group, and the ways in which the services address them. Discrimination, excessive discipline and a lack of intra- and intersectoral integration operate as significant barriers to access to services. On the other hand, the Street Clinics and the approach centered on damage reduction and matrix support emerged as facilitators of access for the homeless.

The articles in this issue begin to outline a panorama in which structurally reproduced social and economic determinants are backed up by unequal access to health benefits and services, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. They also indicate that articulated and integrated approaches can mitigate the most deleterious effects of health inequities and enhance the well-being of the most vulnerable populations.

An effective approach for addressing these inequities involves a coordinated and integrated set of interventions to tackle factors associated with this phenomenon that go beyond the strict scope of healthcare. Investments in education, housing, active employment and income generation policies, social protection, promoting gender equality and combatting racism, are all associated with promoting equity in health¹1 Paes-Sousa R. Buss PM, Barreto ML. Reducing health inequalities in developing countries. In: Detels R, Karim QA, Baum F, Li L, Leyland AH, editors. Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health. 7ª ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2021..

The analysis of municipal policies is important since the cycle of appropriation of national policies often begins with successful local experiences. These can gain scale and become the approach of and for the SUS and other social policies²2 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde (MS). Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Memórias da saúde da família no Brasil. Brasília: MS; 2010..

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