Media Note: International Universal Health Coverage Day

Global Community Calls for Urgent Action Together to Achieve Health for All
First Official United Nations Awareness Day on Universal Health Coverage
Recognised by Events Worldwide
12 DECEMBER 2018 – Leaders and advocates around the world are calling for greater
access to quality, affordable health care for everyone on the first official International
Universal Health Coverage Day. While universal health coverage has been celebrated in thepast, this year is the first to be recognised as an official United Nations awareness day. This
year’s UHC Day, themed “Unite for Universal Health Coverage: Now is the Time forCollective Action” emphasises the critical importance of strong health systems to reducepoverty, promote economic growth and achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
On last year’s UHC Day, the United Nations officially proclaimed 12 December International
Universal Health Coverage Day, signifying unprecedented momentum and global
commitment to achieving Health for All by 2030. With the official designation, which wasbrought forth by the Government of Thailand, this year’s UHC Day will be the farthestreaching since it was first organised in 2014 by the Universal Health Coverage Coalition.
UHC Day is also an important milestone ahead of the High-Level Meeting on Universal
Health Coverage, which will take place in September 2019. The High-Level Meeting will
convene world leaders to pledge actionable steps to make Health for All a reality by 2030.

UHC Movement is Growing and Expanding Access to Essential Health Services
According to the Global UHC Monitoring Report 2017, at least half the world’s population stilllacks access to essential health services and catastrophic health expenses push almost 100
million people into extreme poverty every year. However, as the movement has grown,countries are increasingly taking action in expanding access to essential health services.
Thailand, a key convener of the first UHC Day in 2012, has extended basic health coverage
to 99.9% of its population by bolstering and expanding its primary healthcare system andproviding comprehensive health benefits that require no copayment. As a result, the country
has improved its health outcomes and reduced household spending on health.
Similarly, Ghana invests in three key elements of UHC: financial protection, quality ofservices and access to services. Ghana has operated a national health insurance scheme forover 12 years and as a result, one third of the population is covered. Ghana also has anational quality strategy, which provides a coordinated approach to ensuring quality in all
aspects of healthcare. Community based health and planning services, which serves as thepinnacle of primary health care, is a critical element of this effort.

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The Road Ahead: Accelerating Progress and Leaving No One BehindThis year’s UHC Day builds on the momentum of recent milestones such as World HealthDay 2018 and the second Global Conference on Primary Health Care in Astana,Kazakhstan. Stakeholders hope to make the first multi-stakeholder-led, UN Official Day themost impactful yet by committing to five central pillars of achieving UHC:
• Ensuring political commitment and multi-stakeholder action• Leaving no one behind by reaching every person and community with comprehensive,
quality health services• Engaging community voices to ensure that all are represented• Investing more and smarter by mobilizing resources equitably and efficiently• Holding leaders accountable by improving monitoring and feedback mechanisms
UHC2030 is a movement for accelerating equitable and sustainable progress towards UHC.
UHC2030 provides a multi-stakeholder platform to promote collaboration in countries andglobally on health systems strengthening. UHC2030 advocates for increased politicalcommitment to UHC and facilitate accountability and knowledge sharing.
UHC2030 convenes and houses a multi-stakeholder Coordination Group on International
UHC Day that includes Member States, United Nations Systems, civil society, nongovernmental organisations, the private sector and academia. The group developed theidentity and campaign materials for UHC Day, building on the previous efforts of UHC Day.
In 2018, UHC2030 funded over 60 UHC Day campaigns in 35+ countries. The events are led
by multi-stakeholder groups, such as civil society, community organizations, youth groups,academia, health experts, parliamentarians and journalists. More events are independently
taking place all over the world, including events in Geneva, Nairobi, Tokyo and Berlin.
Over the past 30 years, World AIDS Day has galvanised global stakeholders, leaders andadvocates to drive collective action toward alleviating the global burden of HIV. Near future,
UHC Day may similarly become a household name and serve as an anchor point for theinternational community to drive progress toward health for all.

UHC Day Microsite: www.UHCDay.org
Primary Hashtag: #HealthForAll
Secondary Hashtag: #UHCDay
Official Twitter Account: @UHC2030
UHC Day Quote Cards: universalhealthcoverageday.org/toolkit/#messages

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Events Worldwide Celebrate International Health Coverage Day

International Universal Health Coverage Day at the UN: New York, USA
The WHO Office at the UN, together with the Group of Friends of UHC, will host a flagshipevent at the United Nations Headquarters on December 12th. The panel discussion will
explore multi-stakeholder perspectives on the UHC agenda and upcoming High-Level
Meeting on UHC, with contributions from Permanent Representatives, the UN system,
UHC2030, and civil society representatives.
Additionally, through micro-grant funding, UHC2030 supported more than 60 UHC Day
events in 35+ countries. But Below is a short sample of events supported by UHC2030.
Ageing Nepal: Nagarjun Municipality, Nepal
Ageing Nepal is planning a weeklong campaign in to promote UHC for marginalized
populations, especially the elderly. Activities including a health camp, rally, awarenesssession, op-ed campaign and roundtable discussion.
All Together in Dignity: Dublin, Ireland
All Together in Dignity’s UHC Day panel will launch a series of educational workshops foryoung adults, focusing on the role of youth in supporting UHC reform in Ireland.
Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Program: Nairobi County, Kenya
Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Program is hosting a series of events, including afootball tournament for adolescent girls and young women in the informal settlements ofNairobi, a match between the winning team and a team of stakeholders and members of theUHCDay.org

County Health Management Team, a concert, a march, signature-collecting and much more!
Their events aim to promote awareness of sexual and reproductive health rights.
Guyana Nurses Association: Georgetown, Guyana
The Guyana Nurses Association will observe UHC Day with a march including
representatives of the Ministry of Public Health, PAHO/WHO, the Ministry of Education, theEthnic Relations Commission, civil society organizations and health professionals, followed
by a panel on working across sectors to increase access to health services.
Health, Education and Literacy Programme: Karachi, Pakistan
Health, Education and Literacy Programme (HELP) is hosting two events: an advocacy
seminar for Pakistani media on UHC and a walk leading to the collection of signatures for apetition to be presented to the Provincial Health Minister/Secretary to remind the governmentthat it’s time to deliver on UHC.
IFMSA: Global Youth“Hack for UHC Education!'' is a global hackathon to generate innovative ideas to advocate
for the inclusion of UHC in medical and health school curricula.
Iniciar for Global Action: Argentina
On December 12, Iniciar for Global Action Foundation will disseminate the conclusions of
their second “Health for All Because Every Life Matters" meeting. They will utilize social
media networks and speaker presentations, and will also launch a Health for All magazine.
Journalists Association Against AIDS: Lilongwe, Malawi
Journalists Association Against AIDS (JournAIDS) will convene a high-level panel co-hosted
by 12 partners, which will be broadcast live on the radio with opportunities for people acrossMalawi to participate via text message. The panel will focus on whether user fees are
sustainable for health financing and universal health coverage.
People’s Health Movement: Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
People’s Health Movement (PHM) Tanzania, together with Hubert Kairuki Memorial
University Students' Association, will collaborate to organize a march in Dar Es Salaamacross the city, commemorating UHC Day with partners like the Ministry of Health.
SERAC-Bangladesh: Dhaka, Bangladesh
SERAC-Bangladesh will celebrate UHC Day in conjunction with the Bangladeshi nationalelection, bringing together candidates for parliament, youth, health professionals,
economists, women and civil society organizations to generate political commitments toUHC.

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