The 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79) takes place at a defining moment for global health. As countries confront widening inequalities, financial pressures, ongoing health emergencies, and growing debates around global health architecture reform, the need for stronger, more equitable, and people-centred health systems has never been more urgent.
For the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) for UHC2030, universal health coverage (UHC) must remain the compass guiding these discussions. Achieving Health for All requires health systems grounded in primary health care, financial protection, social participation, and accountability – ensuring that policies and reforms are shaped not only for communities, but with communities.
This page brings together CSEM statements, advocacy messages, and partner resources developed for WHA79. These materials aim to support Member States, civil society organizations, communities, and partners engaging in discussions on universal health coverage, social participation for health, financial protection, health emergencies, antimicrobial resistance, and the reform of the global health architecture.
1. CSEM Statements
CSEM Statement on Social Participation for Health: Translating Commitment into Action
Civil society and community voices, particularly those of people most affected by health inequity, are not peripheral to progress on Universal Health Coverage. They are central to it.
Two years after the adoption of WHA Resolution 77.7 on social participation for health, UHC, and well-being, the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) for UHC2030 is conducting a civil society-led analysis of the state of implementation across the resolution’s seven commitment areas.
Early evidence is clear: progress is uneven and fragile.
Social participation is increasingly referenced in laws, policies, and strategies, yet it is rarely embedded in decision-making authority, public budgets, or accountability systems. Participation remains predominantly consultative, ad hoc, and under-resourced, and this gap is sharpest for marginalised and vulnerable populations.
Without institutionalisation, dedicated financing, and inclusion by design, participatory mechanisms risk becoming symbolic ? reinforcing existing power imbalances rather than dismantling them.
Member States, WHO, and partners now face a narrow but consequential window. CSEM calls on all stakeholders to translate normative commitments into concrete governance reform; to ensure that civil society participation meaningfully shapes policy priorities, budget decisions, and implementation; and to embed social participation within UHC monitoring and accountability frameworks ahead of the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on UHC.
Social participation is not a discretionary element of health policy. It is a prerequisite for health systems that are legitimate, people-centred, and equitable.
CSEM statement on civil society inclusion in global health architecture reform
The Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 warmly welcomes the recognition of universal health coverage and primary health care as key objectives of the proposed WHO-hosted process for global health architecture reform.
However, we are deeply concerned about the limited involvement of civil society and impacted communities in the proposed approach. As currently structured, the Task Force, where decisions will ultimately be made, excludes civil society and the communities most affected by global health decisions, representing a missed opportunity for a genuinely inclusive and people-centered reform process.
To meaningfully reform the global health architecture and make substantive progress towards achieving UHC by 2030, vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved communities must be fully involved and must help shape all stages of this process as equal stakeholders. Their meaningful participation will enable the Task Force to make better-informed decisions that are grounded in and responsive to people’s lived realities and needs.
We therefore urge Member States to support the following changes to the proposed approach:
- Allocate at least two seats on the Task Force for civil society representatives and impacted communities, to ensure genuine social participation and meaningful engagement throughout the process.
- Adequately resource stakeholder engagement, with a dedicated focus on reaching vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved communities.
We also urge Member States to maintain the centrality of universal health coverage based on primary health care in this critical process.
We ask that these recommendations be taken into account as you consider the way forward. The CSEM remains committed to supporting this joint process and looks forward to a reformed global health architecture that makes UHC a lived reality for all.
2. UHC Advocacy Messages
Universal Health Coverage Advocacy Messages: Leave No One Behind
Developed to support advocates engaging with decision-makers and stakeholders during WHA79 and in the lead-up to the 2027 UN High-Level Meeting on UHC, these messages highlight key priorities for accelerating progress towards UHC and ensuring no one is left behind.
Key priorities:
- UHC through primary health care (PHC)
- Social participation and meaningful engagement
- Financial protection
- Reimagining global health architecture
- Health emergencies
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
3. Reimagining Global Health Architecture
HEAR CSO Resources on Global Health Architecture Reform
CSEM contributes to broader civil society efforts to advance a more equitable, participatory, and accountable global health architecture. Through the HEAR CSO consortium, civil society organizations and impacted communities are advocating for meaningful inclusion in reform discussions linked to the WHO-hosted global health architecture reform process and the UN80 Initiative.
Featured resource: HEAR CSO Response to the WHO Joint Reform Process
?A process that excludes these communities from leadership and governance roles could result in regression rather than progress toward health governance that is inclusive, participatory and accountable.?
4. CSEM WHA79 events
Join us at the Civil Society Networking Space at WHA79
On the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM for UHC2030) and UHC2030 will once again provide a space for civil society to network, discuss and develop effective advocacy strategies and collaboration that is needed to drive concrete action on universal health coverage. The venue will host 15 scheduled UHC-related sessions organized by different partners and provide a space for civil society to drop by to connect with colleagues. Check out the programme here.
Sign-up for CSEM-led events at WHA79
From conversations on advancing social participation, strengthening health financing, integrating, achieving gender-responsive health systems, and much more, we?ll explore strategies and foster collaboration to make progress toward UHC in these challenging times. Learn more here.
