UK Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt, speaking at the Tackling Health Inequalities - Governing for Health Summit in London on 17 October 2005, called for action by all EU Member States to counteract the cycle of poor health among disadvantaged groups. She said: "Almost all important health problems, and major causes of premature death across Europe are more common among people with lower levels of education and income." EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, said: "We want our social model and our economic model to deliver prosperity and a fair distribution of health. By helping to share and promote best practice on solutions that work, this summit can help us in this goal."