History and Impact

Over the past decade 12 December has been used to celebrate action for universal health coverage. Take a look back at the impact created over the years.

12.12.2012

The United Nations unanimously endorses a historic resolution urging all countries to accelerate progress toward UHC as an essential priority for international development.
12.12.2014

The Universal Health Coverage Coalition begins to celebrate 12 December as UHC Day, to hold leaders accountable to their promise of #HealthForAll.
12.12.2017

The United Nations officially designates 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day.
12.12.2019

A global movement calls on world leaders to Keep the Promise they made at the 2019 High-Level Meeting on UHC and achieve #HealthForAll by 2030.
12.12.2020

Nearly one year after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported to the World Health Organization, UHC Day goes virtual, calling for investments in health systems that protect everyone.
12.12.2022

UHC Day 2022 marked the last celebration before the 2023 High-Level Meeting on UHC.
12.12.2023

The global community renewed its commitment to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) for all worldwide with the adoption of the United Nations Political Declaration on UHC (21 September 2023). Now it is time for immediate and tangible steps that get progress back on track.

UHC Day 2023

The UHC Day 2023 campaign sought to galvanize global commitment towards ensuring Health For All following the outcomes of the UN High-Level Meeting on UHC. Building upon a decade of UHC Day campaigns, it highlighted the urgency to tackle growing climate-related health threats and the need for robust health systems capable of enduring such challenges.

The theme, “Health for All: Time for Action,” was a clarion call for immediate and concrete actions to realign progress towards UHC, emphasizing the role of parliamentarians in ensuring equitable access to health services. This year’s campaign particularly sought to engage young people and decision makers to foster a comprehensive understanding of UHC in the context of current global health challenges, including climate change.

UHC Day 2022

In 2022, the UHC Day campaign sought to drive momentum toward the 2023 High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, as well as increase global attention toward UHC as the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic waned. The campaign aimed to engage longtime stakeholders and invite new partners to the conversation with a goal of mobilizing efforts around UHC.

The 2022 theme, Build the World We Want: A Healthy Future for All, sought to bring this inspiration to life. The global community has made significant strides towards UHC, and we wanted to highlight and celebrate that progress as we continue to encourage leaders to act on ensuring everyone, everywhere, has access to health coverage without financial hardship.

UHC Day 2021

UHC Day 2021 marked the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and coincided with the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. While historic breakthroughs in public health were achieved this year – namely, the development of multiple life-saving vaccines – there are major disparities in the procurement and delivery of these vaccines globally.

Amidst this ongoing global health crisis – the worst in a century – and in light of the inequities that underscore the global pandemic response and recovery, UHC Day 2021 was an opportunity to stress the importance of Health for All that Leaves No One’s Health Behind.

UHC Day 2020

UHC Day 2020 capped a historic year in health, defined by the worst pandemic in a century — still ongoing at the time of this report. Since the first cases were reported, COVID-19 has been an extreme stress-test for the world’s health systems and societies, revealing gaps and inequities that should have been addressed long before the virus struck. In some cases, momentum and resources for universal health coverage undeniably waned as leaders responded to the immediate threat; in others, the crisis brought new urgency to the case for universal health coverage, with more leaders paying attention, and more people rising to demand change.

Against this background, UHC Day 2020 had one message for leaders everywhere: To end this crisis and build a safer, healthier future, now is the time to act for health systems that protect everyone.

UHC Day 2019

UHC Day 2019 was the culmination of a defining year for the universal health coverage movement. Three months after the historic UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UN HLM), which resulted in the most ambitious and comprehensive health declaration in history, UHC Day 2019 urged world leaders to Keep the Promise of Health For All.

Led by the multi-stakeholder Coordinating Group of UHC Day (12.12.CG) hosted by UHC2030, the sixth UHC Day focused on country ownership and accountability. Following the momentum of the UN HLM, the number of global partner events and social media engagement surged, overcoming the number of activities in years past.

UHC Day 2018

As the first UHC Day officially recognized by the United Nations as an international awareness day, the focus of UHC Day 2018 extended far beyond civil society engagement, with more partner events, country-level engagement and creative content on social media.

Action and conversation from this day propelled conversations about universal health coverage into related issue areas and generated momentum towards major milestones, including the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on UHC in September 2019.