Universal Health Coverage Day 2020

Human Rights Day and Universal Health Coverage Day

Thursday was Human Rights Day and Friday was Universal Health Coverage Day.  As we all ponder what 2021 will look like with Covid vaccination programs, travel restrictions, and ongoing anti-government protests in many countries around the world, it is timely to think about about human rights and access to health care. The impact of Covid on our global food supply has been written about earlier here, but today, let’s focus on Universal Health Coverage.

The global economy has declined and billions of people have been affected, many millions dramatically. The impact on government spending on health financing is in danger of being sacrificed for other priorities in many countries.  The best way to keep communities safe and to encourage economic confidence is to invest in our health systems.  As governments reprioritize their budgets in 2021, now could be a great opportunity to reset their priorities to something that strengthens health systems and enhances human development.

As 2020 comes to a close, we must all remain vigilant and continue our work with government, academia, and civil society to ensure the challenges of 2020 become the motivators for an improved future.  If we fail to take the right precautions and actions now, we risk an equally devastating year ahead.

The festive season is a time to relax and to celebrate – but we must not relax our guard. Celebration can very quickly turn to mourning if we fail to take the right precautions.  The impact of decades of underinvestment in primary care and essential public health functions in the developed and developing world remains bare for all to see today.  At the same time, the important and vital Covid response is already negatively affecting health initiatives to boost immunization, provide sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, and care for the ageing.  The additional pressure already weighing on vulnerable population groups with unmet health needs is staggering. Even before the Covid-inspired crisis, at least half of the world’s population did not have full access to essential health services and about 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty every year because they go into debt because of health-related costs.

From Yemen, to Lebanon, Syria, and Bangladesh, 2020 has brought unprecedent challenges to all of us, including to still nacent initiatives like the Grand Bargain.  Countries like Mozambique who are suffering from a triple humanitarian crisis must be supported by the international humanitarian community to ensure 2021 brings forward greater realization of human rights and universal health coverage for all.