Tracking Universal Health Coverage : 2021 Global Monitoring Report
CONFERENCE EDITION. Health is a fundamental human right, and universal health coverage (UHC) is critical for achieving that right. UHC represents the aspiration that good quality health services should be received by everyone, when and where needed...
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| Language: | English |
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World Health Organization and World Bank
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/686481639409702006/Tracking-Universal-Health-Coverage-2021-Global-Monitoring-Report-Conference-Edition http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36724 |
| Summary: | CONFERENCE EDITION. Health is a fundamental human right,
and universal health coverage (UHC) is critical for
achieving that right. UHC represents the aspiration that
good quality health services should be received by everyone,
when and where needed, without incurring financial hardship.
This ambition was clearly stated as a target in the United
Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and
reaffirmed when world leaders endorsed the Political
Declaration of the United Nations High-level Meeting on
Universal Health Coverage in September 2019, the most
comprehensive international health agreement in history.
Beyond health and wellbeing, UHC also contributes to social
inclusion, gender equality, poverty eradication, economic
growth and human dignity. This report reveals that
pre-pandemic, gains in service coverage were substantial and
driven by a massive scaling up of interventions to tackle
communicable diseases, such as HIV, tuberculosis and
malaria. And while impoverishing health spending has
decreased in recent years, the number of people impoverished
or further impoverished by out of pocket health spending has
remained unacceptably high. These trends are exacerbated by
substantial and persistent inequalities between and within
countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has subsequently led to
significant disruptions in the delivery of essential health
services. Rising poverty and shrinking incomes resulting
from the global economic recession are likely to increase
financial barriers to accessing care and financial hardship
owing to out of pocket health spending for those seeking
care, particularly among disadvantaged populations. The
pre-COVID challenges, combined with additional difficulties
arising from the pandemic, brings an even greater urgency to
the quest for UHC. Strengthening health systems based on
strong primary health care (PHC) is crucial to building back
better and accelerating progress towards UHC and health
security. Effective implementation of PHC-oriented health
systems enables greater equity and resilience, with greater
potential to deliver high-quality, safe, comprehensive,
integrated, accessible, available and affordable health care
to everyone, everywhere, but most especially the most
vulnerable. Substantial financial investments in
PHC-oriented building blocks of health systems, particularly
in the areas of greatest expenditure (health and care
workforces, health infrastructure, medicines and other
health products) should be supported, carefully planned and
informed by health system performance data to address
critical gaps, particularly in low-income and lower-middle
income countries. There is also an urgent need to remove
remaining barriers in order to enable access to health care
for all. Key barriers to UHC progress include poor
infrastructure, with limited availability of basic
amenities, weaknesses in the design of coverage policies to
limit the harmful effects of out of pocket payments
particularly for the poor and those with chronic health
service needs, shortages and inefficient distribution of
qualified health workers, prohibitively expensive good
quality medicines and medical products, and lack of access
to digital health and innovative technologies. Maintaining
progress towards UHC is likely to be challenging. UHC is
first and foremost a political choice. It is also a moral
imperative to guarantee the right to health for all. More
than ever before, strong political commitment from world
leaders and partners organizations is the essential
ingredient for overcoming barriers. |
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