“Financial protection is essential not only for access to HIV and sexual health services, but for reducing stigma, building trust in health systems, and sustaining community-based interventions.”
Mar Lucas Gómez, Director of Institutional Management at Fundación Huésped, Argentina
On the occasion of UHC Day 2025, under the theme “Unaffordable Health Costs? We’re Sick of It!”, Mar Lucas Gómez – Director of Institutional Management at Fundación Huésped in Argentina and member of the CSEM Advisory Group – shared why advancing financial protection is crucial in Argentina and what actions leaders must take now.
From your perspective, why is financial protection essential for advancing UHC in your context or area of work?
In our daily work with key communities on HIV and other sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, we observe that access to quality health services depends not only on their availability but also on people’s ability to use them without facing economic barriers. This is where financial protection becomes a fundamental pillar for moving towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
UHC aims to ensure that everyone has access to essential health services, including prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care, without incurring expenses that push them into poverty. Without financial protection, many people, especially those in vulnerable situations – such as key communities affected by HIV – are forced to forgo care or go into debt to meet their needs.
How does the lack of financial protection affect people’s access to health in your region? Can you share an example or observation that illustrates this human impact?
In the context of sexual and reproductive rights, financial protection is vital for:
- Access to testing and early diagnosis: Without financial coverage, many people avoid getting tested for fear of the cost, which delays diagnosis and increases transmission.
- Continuity of treatment: HIV and many STIs require long-term treatment and ongoing follow-up. Lack of financial protection can disrupt these processes, affecting individual and community health.
- Reduction of stigma and barriers: When services are accessible and free or low-cost, social exclusion is reduced and the inclusion of marginalized populations is promoted.
Our experience in community research and impact communication shows that financial protection also strengthens trust in health systems and empowers communities to demand quality services. Furthermore, it is a key component for the sustainability of sexual and reproductive health interventions.
What are the most urgent actions world leaders / national leaders must take to protect people from catastrophic and impoverishing health costs?
From the perspective of my work – the most urgent actions are:
- Invest in strong and accessible public health systems that provide essential services free of charge or at affordable costs for the entire population, especially the most vulnerable communities.
- Eliminate or reduce out-of-pocket payments at the point of care, which are the leading cause of catastrophic health expenditures.
- Implement solidarity-based financing mechanisms, such as progressive taxation or universal health insurance, that distribute costs and risks equitably.
- Prioritize UHC as a core policy, ensuring that no one is excluded for economic reasons.
- Strengthen transparency and accountability in the use of resources to guarantee efficiency and prevent corruption.
In short, the urgency lies in transforming health financing so that health becomes a true right, not a privilege dependent on the ability to pay – and so that no one is pushed into poverty by healthcare costs.
