Universal Health Coverage Day

The COVID-19 Pandemic  has again shown us that Universal Health Coverage (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. About t hreats to health security   Global Health security overview About Research and development (R&D) About Human security About Counterfeit and substandard medicines About Global governance   About Conflict and natural disasters About Surveillance and public health capacity     About Human migration   About the Non-communicable diseases About Universal healthcare

  In September 2019, at the  UN High-Level Meeting “Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World,”  world leaders endorsed the most ambitious and comprehensive  political declaration  on health in history. In doing so, they committed to ensuring that by 2030 everyone in their country will receive all the quality health services they need without suffering financial hardship .    Significant pogress have been made since 2019;   Learn more about the history of UHC in the UN . The ways for  Health systems strengthening About the  Universal Health Coverage Day The  Action Agenda from the UHC Movement The  Budget toolkit Explore the  Election advocacy guide

The World Health Organization defines Universal Health Coverage ( UHC ) by its main objective of guaranteeing that “ all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them without financial hardship. It covers the full continuum of health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care ”.  Although not explicitly named, the concept of UHC dates back to the WHO Constitution of 1948, declaring health a fundamental human right, and the Alma-At a Declaration of 1978. However, it was at the 58th World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2005, through a resolution urging countries to embed UHC in their health systems, that the concept received greater attention. The 2010 World Health report represents another milestone in the history of UHC , linking its achievement to increased health financing. In 2017, the movement toward UHC gained further momentum with resolution endorsed by the United Nations ...

The observance of the  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 December 12th ,  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 achievement of UHC is fundamentally connected to the realization of a robust PHC system. PHC was first defined in the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 as a prerequisite for achieving health for all. Following the WHO definition, PHC provides promotive, preventative, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care to individuals and families throughout their life course. At the same time, one of the main objectives of a system based on PHC is to systematically address Determinants of health , from economic and social to environmental and commercial. Finally, PHC puts individuals and families at the forefront and empowers them to promote and protect their well-being and participate in developing health and social services. A different world in 2018, with the disease burden shifting towards NCDs, an aging population and population growth, resulting in more frequent contacts with the health system, required a renewed commitment by countries on PHC through the Declaration ofAstana ,...

The goal of  Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has become more attainable as the world has become richer, leading to greater access to health services and technologies , such as vaccines and antibiotics , and to the most dramatic decline in poverty ever achieved. To ensure that every person benefits from the human right to health , political leaders have to Make the right choices, the rational economic, financial and social choice of universal health coverage .  

On December 12th of the Year 2012, the United Nations General Assembly  have 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 December 12th of the year 2017, the United Nations proclaimed December 12th as International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) by resolution 72/138 .