With less than a month to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) during which the first-ever United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UN HLM on UHC) will be held, we are pleased to bring you an update on the UN HLM on UHC. Although the CSEM and UHC2030 are not leading the processes of HLM registration and panelist selection, we are working on getting updates on these processes and will continue to share information as it becomes available.
UN HLM on UHC Political Declaration
The Political Declaration of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage has not been finalized. Following the breaking of the silence procedure on August 8, the UN HLM on UHC co-facilitators issued this letter. The letter indicates that the silence procedure has been broken once again by some delegations on paragraphs 68, 69, 70, and 71 and that they will lead further consultations with concerned delegations to come to a consensus. The paragraphs mentioned are on sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality (paragraphs 68 and 69) and access to health care for migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons and indigenous peoples (paragraphs 70 and 71). The final political declaration may be shared in early September. As the co-facilitators and delegations discuss and negotiate these paragraphs, we continue to encourage CSEM members and other stakeholders to reach out to UN missions urging support for strong outcomes on these paragraphs. The requests should be specific, for instance, asking your government to advocate for the global consensus agreed language on sexual and reproductive health and rights and not agree to proposals that step back from existing commitments.
UN HLM on UHC Registration
Registration for the HLM was open until August 9 to ECOSOC-accredited NGOs and those who received special accreditation to participate in the interactive multi-stakeholder hearing/high-level meeting through the online accreditation process earlier this year. If you received a no-reply email indicating that you have been approved to attend the HLM and requesting confirmation of your attendance, please confirm your attendance by emailing undgccso@un.org, copying UHCHLM@un.org in.
UN HLM on UHC Panelist Selection
The Office of the President of the United Nations General Assembly (OPGA) is leading the process of selecting panelists for the UN HLM on UHC. Over the past few months, Member States and other stakeholders have sent panelist nominations to the PGA’s office. The OPGA is in the final stages of selecting panelists, taking into account all the submissions as well as factors such as gender, regional balance, and availability. Once all panelists and co-chairs are confirmed, the PGA will circulate the final program. Please see the provisional program recently shared with Member States below.
