Last week’s UN High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) offered a possibility for leaders to rekindle their political commitments to attaining UHC, with a view to scaling up international efforts. But what does this imply for the Commonwealth, and the place ought to efforts be prioritised?

By Emily Gilmour, Health Officer, and Janneth Mghamba, Adviser – Health, Commonwealth Secretariat

Commonwealth progress thus far

The Commonwealth continues to play a key position in advocating for UHC, in step with the Commonwealth Charter’s rules of selling entry to reasonably priced well being and eradicating broad disparities and unequal residing requirements.

Since 2014, Commonwealth Health Ministers have targeted on varied facets of UHC, together with ageing and good well being (2015); well being safety (2016); sustainable financing and international safety (2017); non-communicable illnesses (NCDs) within the context of useful resource mobilisation for UHC (2018); UHC within the context of equitable entry to vaccines and constructing resilience for well being techniques and emergencies (2021); and, UHC and Global Health Security as complementary agendas within the Commonwealth (2022). Likewise, on the Commonwealth Heads of Government degree, UHC has remained a key precedence.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, progress had been made on attaining UHC, each globally and throughout the Commonwealth. The UHC service protection index (SDG indicator 3.8.1) elevated from 45 in 2000 to 67 in 2019, with the quickest positive factors within the African Region. However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed already burdened well being techniques previous their breaking level and because of this, the progress in direction of attaining UHC is at standstill.

As of 2023, the Commonwealth stays far in need of reaching the SDG goal of three.8 to realize UHC. Deep inequities in entry to high quality well being providers and merchandise stays a elementary problem for UHC, with aggregated information masking within-country inequities in service protection.

The elevated vulnerabilities and limitations of many well being techniques has underscored the necessity for strengthening well being system resilience to make and maintain progress towards Universal Health Coverage, international well being safety and more healthy populations in tandem.

To reinvigorate the Commonwealth’s dedication to UHC, Commonwealth Health Ministers convened in Geneva in May 2023, beneath the theme: Getting UHC in the Commonwealth on track for 2030. A key dialogue in the course of the assembly was re-orientating well being techniques in direction of main well being care (PHC) as a driver for attaining UHC.

Recognising PHC because the essential pillar of UHC

The World Health Organization (WHO) has  acknowledged that 90 % of those important interventions are capable of be delivered by means of PHC, reinvigorating the position of PHC within the international well being agenda lately. The 2018 Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care positions PHC because the cornerstone of sustainable well being techniques, emphasising the significance of working in direction of the SDGs and attaining fairness inside and between international locations.

Recognising that UHC might be superior extra successfully and effectively with a totally useful and well-delivered PHC system, Commonwealth well being ministers agreed in May 2023 to work collectively to watch progress, share finest practices and experience on strengthening main well being look after UHC. Some of the priorities embrace:

• A necessity to extend funding for the transformation of PHC providers:
  With one in six {dollars} being spent on PHC – even in high-income international locations – it will be significant that PHC providers receives the financing it wants to make sure enough protection.

• Utilising digital well being to reinforce the availability of PHC providers:
  With accessibility, affordability and high quality of well being providers being elementary to PHC, the secure and equitable use of digital health technologies can complement and improve well being system performance.

• Investing in PHC-orientated resilient well being techniques: Often, PHC and pandemic preparedness are siloed, however in recognising these two efforts are intertwined, well being techniques can turn into extra resilient. This consists of making certain that exterior and inside shocks and stressors and patient-centred care are managed by sturdy and built-in well being infrastructure.

• Recognising the basic position of heath and care employees:
  With the rising international shortfall of well being employees, it will be significant that international locations spend money on coaching, growing, recruiting and retaining a talented well being workforce.

Seizing the momentum on UHC

The UN’s Political Declaration on UHC, in addition to the Commonwealth’s commitments, are essential steps ahead in attaining our collective UHC targets. The newly-adopted declaration recognises fairness on the core of UHC, and the necessity for bilateral, regional and multilateral coordination and cooperation to develop well being protection to all.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is readily available to assist international locations in attaining these international targets, together with by means of these milestones and initiatives:

1. The upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, to be chaired by Samoa in 2024, affords a possibility for UHC to proceed to be elevated and retain very important political assist. The Commonwealth can proceed to behave as a frontrunner in making substantial commitments in direction of additional funding in direction of UHC.
    
2. The Commonwealth Secretariat is working to assist international locations in assessing maturity of digital well being techniques and offering technical help to handle gaps by means of its Technical Country Support Programme on Enhancing Digital Health Maturity, a joint programme with WHO. With this initiative and the not too long ago launched Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium, the Commonwealth can leverage these initiatives for sustainable growth and enhance effectivity in hospitals and well being techniques.
    
3. Under the Technical Country Support Programme on Building Health System Resilience, the Commonwealth, working collectively with WHO, will tailor a technical bundle of assist for international locations on enhancing emergency preparedness and different important public well being capabilities.

With 2030 quick approaching, it will be significant that accelerated motion must be taken, backed by sustainable and important investments, to make sure our efforts our realised.

Media contact

• Josephine Latu-Sanft  Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• +44 20 7747 6476  |  E-mail