About
Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.
What is UHC Day?
Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December is the annual rallying point for the global movement for health for all. It marks the anniversary of the United Nations’ historic and unanimous endorsement of universal health coverage in 2012.
Since its establishment in 2016, UHC2030 is proud to have supported partners around the world in organizing events each UHC Day. Building on its experience and mandate, UHC2030 is uniquely positioned to coordinate UHC Day observations across the UN system and in countries around the world.
Leading transparently and collaboratively, UHC2030 convenes a multi-stakeholder Coordination Group on International UHC Day (12.12.CG) that includes Member States, multilateral organizations, health-related initiatives, civil society, parliamentarians, philanthropic foundations, the private sector and academia.
UHC and the SDGs
In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which sets out 17 wide-ranging and interconnected goals for a greener, healthier, more peaceful and equal planet by the year 2030.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages. Within this health goal, target 3.8 is specifically to “Achieve UHC, 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”. But SDG 3 is also cross-cutting, meaning that progress towards health and well-being contributes to progress towards other SDGs, and action on other SDGs in turn contributes to attaining Goal 3.
“The goals and targets are strongly connected to each other. For example, poverty (Goal 1) can lead to hunger and malnutrition (Goal 2), which may lead to health problems (Goal 3) that may prevent children from completing their education (Goal 4) or adults from getting a job (Goal 8). As you can see, the links between the goals mean that we cannot see them in separation to one another but as a puzzle, which cannot be completed without all the pieces.” -SDG Zone
Learn why UHC is important for...
Climate change is humanity's most significant health threat, impacting social and environmental determinants of health – such as clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food, and secure shelter.
It's time to:
- Recognize the planet's health is inseparable from its people's health. The environment in which we live, work and grow has a massive effect on our health. UHC is crucial to people-centered climate advocacy.
- Build health systems that are responsive to our current reality of extreme weather year-over-year. UHC is a pillar to brace us against the health implications of what is to come.
A health system must believe that everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have the freedom to decide if, when, and how to become a parent or grow their families and receive essential services.
It's time to:
- Ground health systems in the belief that everyone is entitled to lifesaving and life-affirming care to support when they choose to or choose not to have a child.
- Believe that our future is not written in stone. Future health systems can ensure that 35 million women won't have abortions in unsafe conditions. And that 299,000 women won't have to die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Mental health and well-being are essential to a young person's healthy development. Globally, one in seven individuals ages 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder. We want to help establish healthy populations. We must ensure that mental health moves with efforts to improve physical health. Health Systems must care for the whole person.
It's time to:
- Ensure young people have a health system that provides them with tools and resources to protect their health and allows them to survive and thrive.
- Focus on defining health as continuously improving our quality of life, not simply having the absence of disease.
Globally, there are more than 100 million forcibly displaced people. In times like this, it is more critical than ever to continue developing migrant-friendly effective health systems that will ensure universal health coverage. Leaving no one behind must be a core tent of our work to ensure a healthy future for all.
It's time to:
- Protect people when they're most vulnerable is a sign of who we are as a society. UHC is about giving them a real shot at the life they deserve.
- Design health systems that support everyone - regardless of the circumstance - because health knows no border.
Stigma, bias, and systemic inequalities in healthcare settings combine to hinder LGBTQ+ people from receiving the support and care every patient deserves. If health is a human right, access to it might be protected and guaranteed.
It's time to:
- Honor all gender identities and sexual orientations as part of an equitable health system. UHC helps us build a world where everyone can access life-supporting, gender-affirming care.
- Close health disparities by ensuring LGBTQIA+ individuals can receive responsive care to promote their health.