Affordable health care, right here, right now!

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 financial protection for health. Our lives, livelihoods and futures depend on it.

UHC Day poster 2026

Governments have made promises to prioritize universal health coverage, affirming the right to health for all. Yet people are still waiting.

Progress remains uneven and far too slow. For billions, global commitments have yet to translate into real access to affordable, quality care or better health outcomes. And one in four people worldwide still faces financial hardship when paying for health care out of their own pockets, often forcing impossible choices between health and essentials like food, education or housing. Promises are not enough.

Governments must deliver, turning commitments into urgent, high-impact action so that everyone, everywhere can access the health services they need, without financial hardship.

This UHC Day, we’re calling on governments to deliver Affordable health care, right here, right now!

Get involved.

Background

UHC means that everyone, everywhere, can 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 and the right to health, ensuring that 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.