Universal Health Coverage – CLOSING

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of the UN General Assembly

29 April 2019

Ministers, Excellencies,

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

This has been a truly invigorating day!  When I opened this meeting, I described universal health coverage as a “distant dream” for billions of people. But I have been greatly encouraged by our meeting today.

Having over 600 representatives from key health constituencies really has made a difference – to the energy in this room, and to the quality of the discussions we have had.

And what we have heard – from these stakeholders, from our panellists and from Member States – is that we can make the dream of universal health coverage a reality. This is what a credible, inclusive and vibrant process can achieve.

Excellencies, dear friends,

The road to UHC has been a long one – paved by decades of work by governments, by the World Health Organization and other UN bodies, and by people seeking to claim their right to health. In 2012, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 67/81 on “global health and foreign policy”, which called for the inclusion of UHC as an important element of the international development agenda. Three years later, UHC was enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals.

And now, we are entering a crucial period for universal health coverage – as we approach the World Health Assembly next month, the High-Level Political Forum in July, and the High-Level Meeting in September.

I want to recognise and praise the hard work of the co-facilitators – the Permanent Representatives of Georgia and Thailand – in helping to lay the groundwork for that meeting. In the coming weeks, my office will circulate a summary of our discussions today, to support Member States and stakeholders as we prepare for September.

This will be a crucial opportunity for us to make progress on all the “Key Asks” of the UHC movement which are:

• Ensuring political leadership and commitment across government and society;
• Pursuing equity in access to quality health services with financial protection;
• Creating a strong, enabling regulatory and legal environment that is responsive to people’s needs;
• Building high-quality health systems that people and communities trust;
• Increasing and harmonising domestic and international investment; and
• Establishing multi-stakeholder mechanisms – so that conversations like those we had today continue in all countries, at all

Excellencies, dear friends,

One in every two people – one in two – does not have access to the health services they need. We cannot accept that. So let us work together, let us do everything we can between now and September, to make tangible progress towards universal health coverage – towards quality, people-centered care for everyone, everywhere.

Thank you.