Civil society from all regions of Argentina came together with government officials in Buenos Aires on June 14, 2019, to strategize on the upcoming United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UN HLM on UHC), and beyond. Thirty representatives of both civil society and government participated in this country advocacy meeting, a result of collaborative efforts between the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, Argentine Red Cross, and Pan American Health Organization. The key objectives of the meeting were to identify achievements and challenges in the implementation of UHC and to advocate for the participation of civil society in UHC reforms going forward.
Argentine civil society advocacy around the UN HLM on UHC centers on two main asks to government: send the Head of State and the highest level political delegation to the HLM so that they can make concrete and measurable commitments to advance UHC and include civil society in Argentina’s delegation to the HLM.
Other recommendations made to the government in the meeting include reducing out-of-pocket expenditure for healthcare costs, which is currently at 18% in Argentina. Civil society further recommended that the government focus on increasing financing for primary health care and health workers as well as coverage of essential health services and ensuring implementation of the right to health and participation of civil society in health planning and budgeting. All the recommendations are in alignment with the Key Asks from the UHC Movement for the UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage and Civil Society Priority Actions for the UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage.
The meeting notes with more details, including the national priorities and challenges identified, are available in English and Spanish here.
