The CSEM Advisory Group held its bi-annual meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on the eve of the UHC2030 Steering Committee meeting, also held in Geneva. The objectives of the two-day meeting on June 17-18, 2019, included discussing CSEM advocacy and communication priorities, suggesting opportunities to improve support to the CSEM, and preparing Steering Committee representatives to represent the CSEM position during the steering committee session.
The Advisory Group identified priority actions for the CSEM to undertake leading up to the UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UN HLM on UHC) and after. They discussed the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations for the UN HLM on UHC political declaration and identified key areas of advocacy and gaps. Discussions led to the production of the Why 5%of GDP brief, advocating for the clear health financing target of 5% of GDP as government health expenditure as well as the UN HLM on UHC FAQs. Continue to look out for additional communications as we approach the UN HLM on UHC.
The group also reviewed the CSEM Governance charter. The charter is an essential document governing the CSEM and required a series of in-depth discussions to finalize. We will upload the final version to the CSEM website e-library in the coming weeks.
The CSEM representatives to the UHC2030 Steering Committee Santosh Kumar Giri, Rosemary Mburu and Simon Wright and CSEM Secretariat representative Amy Boldosser-Boesch participated in the UHC2030 Steering Committee meeting from June 19-20, 2019. The Steering Committee representatives presented the CSEM’s Why 5%of GDP brief, advocating for the uptake of the target of 5% of GDP as government health financing. They also gave updates on civil society engagement on the HLM on UHC at the country level and advocated for greater attention to and support for country-level engagement post-HLM to ensure national accountability.
