2023/12/12   IAE 

Health For All: Time For Action

it is time to get progress towards health for all back on track.

The United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, held on 21 September 2023, reaffirmed that healthy people are the foundation of healthy societies and economies, and that UHC is central to achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals.

And yet:

• Half of the world’s population does not have access to essential health services.
• An estimated 2 billion people face financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health expenses, including 344 million people living in extreme poverty.
• Since the launch of the SDGs in 2015 – even before the COVID-19 pandemic – the expansion of health service coverage had stalled and financial protection had deteriorated.

The pandemic has set countries further back in their journey towards universal health coverage. It has also showed why UHC is so important.

It’s time for action.

On 12 December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) – the idea that everyone, everywhere should have access to quality, affordable health care. On 12 December 2017, the United Nations proclaimed 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) by resolution 72/138.

International Universal Health Coverage Day aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage with multi-stakeholder partners. Each year on 12 December, UHC advocates raise their voices to share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for health, champion what we have achieved so far, call on leaders to make bigger and smarter investments in health, and encourage diverse groups to make commitments to help move the world closer to UHC by 2030.

The COVID-19 pandemic has again shown us that UHC and health security are intertwined goals to protect everyone, everywhere, that we achieve through the same health system – in crisis and calm. For health systems to work, they must work for everyone – no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have. Equitable health coverage puts women, children, adolescents, and the most vulnerable first because they face the most significant barriers to essential care.

On 12 December, join us to demand action on universal health coverage and call on leaders to invest in health systems and primary healthcare for all that leave no one behind. Our lives, livelihoods and futures depend on it.