TEST TIMELINE

World leaders at a historic UN Summit in September adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These include:

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

• Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

To promote physical and mental health and well-being, and to extend life expectancy for all, we must achieve universal health coverage and access to quality health care. No one must be left behind.”

– 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, paragraph 26

WHO and the World Bank released the first global monitoring report to assess countries’ progress toward UHC. The report noted that in 2013, at least 400 million people lacked access to at least one essential health service. It examines global access to health services, such as access to clean water and sanitation, family planning, skilled birth attendance, antenatal care, child immunization, antiretroviral therapy and tuberculosis treatment.

Hosted by Rwanda with the theme of “Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa”, the forum explored the priorities and challenges of health care systems in Africa and recommendations to achieve health for all.

40 years after the historic Alma-Ata Declaration, world leaders pledged to strengthen their PHC systems at Astana, Kazakhstan. The declaration includes commitments in four key areas: (1) make bold political choices for health across all sectors; (2) build sustainable primary health care; (3) empower individuals and communities; and (4) align stakeholder support to national policies, strategies and plans.

We find it ethically, politically, socially and economically unacceptable that inequity in health and disparities in health outcomes persist…We envision primary health care and health services that are high quality, safe, comprehensive, integrated, accessible, available and affordable for everyone and everywhere, provided with compassion, respect and dignity by health professionals who are well-trained, skilled, motivated and committed.”

Political Declaration commits to achieve UHC by 2030

We commit to […] Ensure that no one is left behind, with an endeavour to reach the furthest behind first, founded on the dignity of the human person and reflecting the principles of equality and non-discrimination, as well as to empower those who are vulnerable or in vulnerable situations and address their physical and mental health needs which are reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all children, youth, persons with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons, indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons and migrants.”

Held in Osaka, Japan in June 2019, the first-ever joint session brought together health and finance ministers of G20 member countries and invited guest countries to focus on health financing for achieving UHC. Outcomes included the G20 Shared Understanding on the Importance of UHC Financing in Developing Countries.

Around UHC Day 2020, UHC2030 released the first synthesis of the State of UHC Commitment. It is structured around the eight areas of commitment covered in the 2019 Political Declaration on UHC and presents a multi-stakeholder review on progress toward UHC around the world.

The Coalition of Partnerships for UHC and Global Health unites health leaders and advocates in a common goal to align advocacy and accountability efforts to achieve UHC and advance the SDGs. The Coalition will work together to assist Member States and other stakeholders in: (a) Accelerating high-level political efforts around socio-political accountability to ensure UHC delivers for vulnerable populations (b) Supporting coordination among the various existing health initiatives and joint follow-up actions of UN HLMs for the preparation of the future UN HLMs on the health agenda (c) Strengthening existing SDG accountability mechanisms to scale up efforts on health-related SDGs by 2023 and beyond.