Girl visiting pediatrician
Girl visiting pediatrician.
Photo:WHO

Health For All: 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.

UHC Day poster 2023

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.

More information can be found on the official campaign microsite: www.universalhealthcoverageday.org.

Background

The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) has become even more urgent with COVID-19, which has increased inequities and financial hardship. UHC and health security are two intertwined goals to protect everyone, everywhere, that we achieve through the same health system - in crisis and calm.

UHC means that everyone, everywhere, should have access to the health services they need without risk of financial hardship. It is embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 3.8) and includes the full range of essential health services, spanning health promotion, prevention, and treatment.

The three dimensions of UHC are population coverage (who receives services, linked to equity), service coverage (what health services are available), and financial protection (ensuring health services do not lead to financial hardship). UHC is based on the principles of equity, non-discrimination & the right to health, ensuring that also the most marginalized populations are reached and covered, and no-one is left behind.

Universal Health Coverage - What does it mean?

A nurse holds a newborn child at Cama Hospital, a major hospital for women and children in Mumbai, India.

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.

 

Serbian peacekeepers serving with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) provide medical care at the MINUSCA hospital in Bangui

The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the many members of the UN family engaged in health-related matters, which includes, among others, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in support of reproductive, adolescent and maternal health; and the health-related activities of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

 

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.