UHC Forward: Towards Universal Health Coverage

Governments around the world are engaging in serious political and technical discussions on how to expand health coverage. Still others are considering such reforms, but are struggling to navigate the legal, financial, and political frameworks of their countries to determine the best path towards reform.

Below is a list of UHC-related headlines from around the world:

General News

World Bank must advance universal health coverage: Civil society groups representing 40 countries met with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim at the World Bank annual meetings asking that he support developing countries to achieve universal health coverage.

Refining the social contract for health to build on the Millennium Development Goals: On 16 October 2012, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), in partnership with other organizations, will be holding the high level panel 'Building a Social Contract for Health'. The group says that "universal health coverage must be within the Post-2015 policy framework to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ensure a continued pledge towards health and inclusive growth."

Partners of Harmonization for Health in Africa discuss action plans for high quality, affordable health care and implementation of Tunis Declaration: Partners in the Harmonization for Health in Africa (HHA) initiative convened in Nairobi on October 4 and 5, as a follow-up to the recent Tunis Ministerial Conference for African Health and Finance Ministers. Regional Directors, senior representatives and a multidisciplinary group of technical experts from the HHA partner agencies used the opportunity to discuss how to further strengthen their support to countries in providing quality and affordable healthcare to African populations, particularly the under-served.

Get well, Maya: Universal Health Coverage ensures healthy futures: The World Bank kicks off a new initiative around universal health coverage by releasing a new video featuring Maya that explains the concept of UHC.

The first steps to a JLN Costing Manual: Kyle Beaulieu of the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage Provider Payment Track explains what it takes to develop a Costing Manual. First: an idea. Second: deliberation and scoping for interest. Third: full scale planning and preparation.

Universal health coverage: An emerging agenda: World Bank Senior Health Specialist & Coordinator of a Taskforce on Innovative and International Financing for Health Systems Strengthening reflects on the recent World Bank and IMF annual meetings in Tokyo.

WHO Director-General reiterates support for universal health coverage: WHO Director-General Margaret Chan reiterates her support for UHC as "the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer" during the Lancet Series on Universal Health Coverage launch event. Watch video from the event on the UHC Forward website.

JLN member countries convene in Morocco to discuss “Equity in universal health coverage: how to reach the poorest”: The co-hosted "Equity in universal health coverage: how to reach the poorest" workshop in Marrakech marks the first time that a Joint Learning Network sponsored event supported the participation of parliamentarians focusing on the health sector.

BRAC Health Care Innovations Program: On October 3rd, Dr. Timothy Evans, Dean of the James P. Grant School of Public Health at BRAC University in Bangladesh and former Assistant-Director General at the World Health Organization presented to an engaged audience of health experts and R4D staff on the BRAC Healthcare Innovations Program (B-HIP), a program that seeks to move Bangladesh towards universal health coverage.

Global Health 2: Universal Health Coverage - opportunities and lessons: Video from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group annual meeting Tokyo featuring Chief Executive Officer of OxFam India Nisha Agrawal, Director-General of the World Health Organization Margaret Chan, and Editor of the Lancet Richard Horton.

Countries

India

New generation of health financing schemes can help India progress towards universal health coverage, says new World Bank study: A new World Bank study–"Government-Sponsored Health Insurance in India: Are You Covered?"–is the first comprehensive review of India’s major government sponsored health insurance schemes. It has analyzed the findings from three central-level schemes and six state schemes[1]. The study focuses on some of the new generation schemes that target the poor and documents key design, institutional and operational features of these GSHISs. It also identifies emerging issues, opportunities and challenges faced by these schemes.

Government mulls Aarogyasri for the entire state of Andhra Pradesh: The Times of India reports that Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy said the government is seriously considering bringing the entire nine crore population of the state under the Aarogyasri scheme.

Nigeria

Challenges of health care financing in Nigeria: effective insurance scheme as a way out: Business News argues that "health care is a right not a privilege, its provision should be based on need not ability to pay".

Nigerian state of Kwara to enroll civil servants in NHIS : The Nigerian Tribune reports that The Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Abdul Issa has announced that the Kwara State government will enroll civil servants into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).