UHC Forward: Towards Universal Health Coverage

The relationship between clinician and patient has been the bedrock of the global health equity movement. Globally health is improving, but despite this progress, many challenges remain while new ones are emerging. The values that bind clinician and patient to strategy and systems analysis—to a “science of delivery”—and to rigorous measurement must be connected, and action must be taken to build healthier societies. The setting for this work is the growing movement for universal health coverage. The aims of universal coverage are the same as clinicians’ aspirations for their patients: to ensure that all people can access quality health services, to safeguard all people from public health risks, and to protect all people from impoverishment due to illness—whether from out-of-pocket payments for health care or from loss of income when a household member becomes ill or injured.