UHC Day 2024 Campaign
With only six years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world remains significantly off track to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
The statistics are alarming:
- At least 4.5 billion people ? more than half of the world?s population ? lack access to essential health services.
- Financial protection has also progressively deteriorated over the last 20 years, with 2 billion people experiencing financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health costs.
- And less than a third of countries have made progress on both service coverage and financial protection.
However, it is still possible to achieve UHC by 2030, if countries act now to translate the commitments they made in the 2023 Political Declaration on UHC into concrete actions.??
That is why the 2024 UHC Day campaign will focus on urging countries to translate their UHC commitments into laws, budgets, policies, and programmes that will contribute to reducing financial barriers in accessing essential health services and products, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable.?
To learn more about UHC Day, visit uhcday.org (this microsite will be updated with this year?s campaign materials by the official campaign launch on 3 October 2024).
Make Your Voice Heard
The case for UHC is clear. UHC ensures that everyone, everywhere, can get the quality health services they need without financial hardship. It is key to attaining the SDGs and coping with the interlocking health, humanitarian and climate crises our world faces.
This year?s UHC day campaign will equip key stakeholders, health advocates and UHC champions with the necessary tools to influence decision-makers such as heads of state and governments, Ministers of Finance and Health, parliamentarians, local authorities, and sustainable development donors to:
- Ensure access to a core package of essential health services that are of high quality and affordable or free of charge, and
- Protect people from financial hardship due to health expenditures.
How can writing a letter help?
Writing to your decision makers and government officials is an effective way to help accelerate action on UHC and share our views with those who make decisions that impact our daily life. We have the power and responsibility to influence them and take an active role in shaping our country and communities.
Where do I start?
- Download the UHC Day Advocacy Letter template here. The letter is currently available in English, French and Spanish.
- Identify your target decision maker. You can send letters to any government officials who make decisions about health in your country: Heads of State, Ministers of Health and Finance, Members of Parliament and local authorities. See the detailed instructions below for a list of websites to help with this step.
- Customize your letter for your country?s context. Add your personal story or details specific to your country?s context. Make sure to add the date and the recipient?s name, title and address.
- Select a delivery method and send! You can either print the letter and mail it to your representative or download it and send it via email.
- Amplify your call on social media. Encourage others to join the effort by amplifying your call on social media and across your networks. See the detailed instructions below for suggested messaging.
- Follow up to ensure your message is heard and acted upon
If you are emailing your letter, please CC laura@wacihealth.org and csem@msh.org so we can count your efforts in our global advocacy campaign.
See the detailed instructions below to help you prepare and send your letter.
Detailed instructions:
Download the UHC Day Advocacy Letter template
Use the link below to download the UHC Day Advocacy Letter template. The letter is currently available in English, French and Spanish
Identify your target decision maker
You can send letters to any government officials who make decisions about health in your country such as heads of state and governments, Ministers of Finance and Health, parliamentarians and local authorities in countries.
Identify a specific person and obtain their office?s email address (this information should be publicly available).
Useful websites to get started:
- Government and Embassy Directories:
- Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: Provides contact information for parliamentarians from Commonwealth countries.
Website: https://www.cpahq.org - Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Offers a directory of members of parliament and their contact details in member countries. Website: https://www.ipu.org
- Diplomatic Missions Directory: A global directory of embassies and consulates where you can find contact details for diplomatic representatives in different countries. Website: https://embassy.goabroad.com
- Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: Provides contact information for parliamentarians from Commonwealth countries.
- National Government Websites:
- Most countries have official government portals that list contact details for ministries, heads of state, parliamentarians, and local officials. You can search for these portals by searching “Official Government of [Country]” or “Parliament of [Country].”
- United Nations or Regional Organizations:
- Many UN bodies and regional organizations like the African Union, European Union, et ASEAN may offer directories or can guide you to country-specific contacts for Ministers of Health, Finance, and Heads of State.
Websites:- https://www.un.org
- https://au.int (African Union)
- https://www.europa.eu (European Union)
- https://asean.org (ASEAN)
- Many UN bodies and regional organizations like the African Union, European Union, et ASEAN may offer directories or can guide you to country-specific contacts for Ministers of Health, Finance, and Heads of State.
Customize your letter for your country?s context
An effective letter is both factual and personal. To make the biggest impact, ensure your letter shows your knowledge of health systems but also states how this issue affects your life.
- Consider adding a personal story relevant to UHC. Remember that UHC intersects with mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, gender equity, climate change and many other issues. You are welcome to talk about how UHC sits at the heart of addressing the issues that matter to you.
- The template letter highlights several calls to action on UHC that are relevant to all countries and contexts. However, you are welcome to add details about specific legislation or policies relevant to your context and to adjust the policy recommendations as appropriate. Remember to include the name or number of the proposed legislation or policy and explain how and why you want your representative to act on this issue.
- Double-check the facts and statistics you used and make sure they?re up to date and from reliable sources.
You can use several resources to add specific data to your country context:
- UHC Country data: use this table to have specific data on financial protection in your country
- UHC Data portal: a single interface to access and visualize UHC and Health System data sets.
- State of UHC commitment: a unique multi-stakeholder view to a simple question: Are countries acting on their commitments to UHC?
- CSEM country consultations on UHC
- Programme d'action du mouvement CSU, a set of action-oriented policy recommendations that country leaders should implement to strengthen resilient and equitable health systems, advance UHC and health security, and deliver health for all by 2030.
In addition, you can explore the Health for all advocacy toolkit, which gathers key information and tools to advocate for UHC, hold policy-makers accountable for their commitments, and build a broad social movement within civil society to support health for all.
Select a delivery method ? and send!
You can either print out the letter and mail it to your representative or download the letter and send it via email. If possible, we encourage you to email your letter to ensure a quick delivery.
If you?re sending the letter via email, be sure to state your intention clearly in the email subject line and paste the content of your letter into the email body. Then CC laura@wacihealth.org and csem@msh.org so that we can count your efforts in our global advocacy campaign. You?re all done!
Amplify your call on social media
Encourage others to join the effort by amplifying your call on social media and across your networks. Suggested social copy is below. You can add campaign hashtags as you?d like:
-
- #UHC
- #UHCDay
- #UHCDay2024
- #HealthForAll
- #Youth4UHC
Account to follow/ tag:
Suggested social content:
? Take Action for Universal Health Coverage!
Join the #UHC2024 movement by sending this template letter to your government. Let’s demand financial protection for all when accessing health services. Help reduce health-related poverty by #UHCDay, Dec 12, 2024. ?
https://csemonline.net/uhc-advocacy-letter/
#HealthForAll #EndHealthPoverty #UHCDay2024
To achieve #HealthForAll by 2030, leaders must invest in strong health systems, increase public health financing and lower costs. Particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable.
Join me in sending a letter to decision makers for urgent action on #UHC: https://csemonline.net/uhc-advocacy-letter/
? Raise your voice for #UHC2024!
Send this letter to your leaders asking for strong policies to eliminate financial barriers to health services. Every action counts as we strive to end health-related poverty. Let’s make Dec 12, 2024, count! ??
https://csemonline.net/uhc-advocacy-letter/
#UHC #HealthEquity #HealthForAll
Follow up
Following up after sending an advocacy letter to your government is crucial to ensure your message is heard and acted upon. Here?s a detailed guide to help you effectively follow up:
- 1. Wait 2-3 Weeks
Allow time for a response before following up. - 2. Use Multiple Channels
- Email or Call to confirm receipt and ask for an update.
- Request a Meeting to discuss your letter in person or virtually.
- Engage on Social Media by tagging the official politely to raise awareness.
- 3. Engage Key Staff
Contact relevant aides or advisors and build a relationship with them to ensure your message reaches the decision-maker. - 4. Leverage Public Support
Share your letter publicly through petitions, social media, or op-eds to create momentum. - 5. Send a Follow-Up Letter
If no response after 3-4 weeks, send a polite reminder emphasizing the urgency of your request. - 6. Attend Public Events
Attend town halls or public meetings to raise your issue directly with the official. - 7. Track Progress
Monitor actions and follow up again if there?s no movement on the issue. - 8. Stay Respectful but Persistent
Always maintain a respectful tone, but keep pushing until you get a response.
Ressources en vedette
Explore evidence-based approaches to shape your advocacy message, including the new UHC Country Data tool, which provides a quick overview of where your country stands on UHC and financial protection.
UHC Day letter-writing workshop – Feedback and support needs:
Thank you for participating in our letter-writing workshop on September 10, 2024. We appreciate your dedication to advancing universal health coverage. If you missed it you can find more information and the recording ici.
Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us understand your advocacy efforts, the usefulness of this workshop and the template letter, and how we can better support you. Thank you!
What?s next ?
- S'inscrire for the Virtual UHC Day Campaign launch on October 3 to learn more about the 2024 UHC Day campaign.
- As a follow-up to this workshop, UHC2030 and CSEM will also host a youth-focused letter-writing workshop in October 2024 to support young advocates in adapting letters to their country’s context. (Details will be available soon, and you can already register ici)
To stay informed on the latest updates on the 2024 UHC Day campaign, please subscribe to the UHC Day Substack and the UHC2030 Newsletter and follow us on social media (Twitter: CSU2030 et CSEM / LinkedIn: CSU2030).
