April 7th is World Health Day.
This is the 70th anniversary of the World Health
Organization (WHO)
The
theme of World Health Day 2018 is: Universal health coverage (UHC): everyone,
everywhere. The slogan is “Health for All”.
Key
messages for World Health Day 2018
Universal health coverage is about ensuring
all people can get quality health services, where and when they need them,
without suffering financial hardship.
No one should have to choose between good
health and other life necessities.
UHC is key to people’s and nations’ health
and well-being.
UHC is feasible. Some countries have made
great progress. Their challenge is to maintain coverage to meet people’s
expectations.
All countries will approach UHC in different
ways: there is no one size fits all. But every country can do something to
advance UHC.
Making health services truly universal
requires a shift from designing health systems around diseases and institutions
towards health services designed around and for people.
Everyone can play a part in the path to UHC,
by taking part in a UHC conversation.
Too many people are currently missing out on
health coverage
“Universal” in UHC means “for all”, without
discrimination, leaving no one behind.
Everyone everywhere has a right to benefit
from health services they need without falling into poverty when using them.
Here are some facts and figures about the
state of UHC today:
At least half of the world’s people is
currently unable to obtain essential health services.
Almost 100 million people are being pushed
into extreme poverty, forced to survive on just $1.90 or less a day, because
they have to pay for health services out of their own pockets.
Over 800 million people (almost 12 percent of
the world’s population) spend at least 10 percent of their household budgets on
health expenses for themselves, a sick child or other family member. They incur
so-called “catastrophic expenditures”.
Incurring catastrophic expenses for health
care is a global problem.
In richer countries in Europe, Latin America
and parts of Asia, which have achieved high levels of access to health
services, increasing numbers of people are spending at least 10 percent of
their household budgets on out-of-pocket health expenses.
What
UHC is
UHC means that all people and communities
receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship.
UHC enables everyone to access the services
that address the most important causes of disease and death and ensures that
the quality of those services is good enough to improve the health of the
people who receive them.
What
UHC is not
UHC does not mean free coverage for all
possible health interventions, regardless of the cost, as no country can
provide all services free of charge on a sustainable basis.
UHC is not only about ensuring a minimum
package of health services, but also about ensuring a progressive expansion of
coverage of health services and financial protection as more resources become
available.
UHC is not only about medical treatment for
individuals, but also includes services for whole populations such as public
health campaigns – for example adding fluoride to water or controlling the
breeding grounds of mosquitoes that carry viruses that can cause disease.
UHC is not just about health care and
financing the health system of a country.
It encompasses all components of the health
system: systems and healthcare providers that deliver health services to
people, health facilities and communications networks, health technologies,
information systems, quality assurance mechanisms and governance and
legislation.
© WHO 2018
