World leaders at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York, United States of America, have adopted a high-level political declaration to fast-track investment in universal health coverage that will reach five billion people unable to access health care by 2030.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the UN member-states have committed to advance towards universal health coverage by investing in four major areas around primary health care.
These include mechanisms to ensure no one suffers financial hardship because they have had to pay for healthcare out of their own pockets, and implementing high-impact health interventions to combat diseases and protect women’s and children’s health.
In addition, countries agreed to strengthen the health workforce and infrastructure and reinforce governance capacity.
The countries are to report back on their progress to the UNGA in 2023.
"This declaration represents a landmark for global health and development,” Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was quoted as saying.
Ghebreyesus said the declaration was the most comprehensive set of health commitments ever adopted at this level.
He said the world has 11 years left to make good on its sustainable development goals, adding that universal health coverage is key to ensuring that the target is achieved.
He added: “Universal health coverage is a political choice: today, world leaders have signaled their readiness to make that choice. I congratulate them.”
The declaration by the leaders came a day after the WHO and its partners flagged the need to double health coverage between now and 2030 or reach up to five billion people unable to access health care.
“Now that the world has committed to health for all, it is time to get down to the hard work of turning those commitments into results,” said Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“We all have a role to play. Donors and country governments need to move beyond business as usual to bolster the primary health care systems that address the vast majority of people’s needs over their lifetimes,” said Gates.
WHO, along with 11 other multilateral organisations, which collectively channel one-third of development assistance for health, launched their Global Action Plan for health and well-being for all on Tuesday.
The plan will ensure the 12 partners provide more streamlined support to countries to help deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets.
A new report issued by the WHO and partners on the eve of a UN General Assembly high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage states that countries must increase spending on primary healthcare by at least one percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) if the world is to close glaring coverage gaps and meet health targets agreed in 2015.
It said countries must also intensify efforts to expand health services countrywide.
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