Judging by events at the UN general assembly last month, countries around the world are uniting around a common goal to reach universal health coverage. Indeed, there is a growing movement that UHC be included in an overarching health goal for the post-2015 development agenda as proposed by the UN’s sustainable development solutions network.
This makes sense, because UHC (people receiving the health services they need without suffering financial hardship) improves health outcomes, increases efficiency, reduces poverty and is popular with voters across the globe. Furthermore, it is fundamentally about rights and equity: it is about everybody receiving the health services they need, while making financial contributions according to their ability to pay. Taking these concepts of health service coverage and financial protection together, UHC means that healthy, wealthy people must subsidise services for the sick and the poor…..more