Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
I thank Thailand, Japan and Georgia for hosting today’s event, together with our partners at UHC 20230, IFRC, and the UN Foundation.
Three years ago, we met here in New York for the first High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage.
We knew nothing then of what lay just around the corner.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated in devastating fashion that when health is at risk, everything is at risk.
The pandemic is not just a health crisis; it has disrupted businesses, economies, schools, families, societies, and more.
Even before the pandemic, almost one-third of the world’s population lacked access to essential health services, and almost two billion people experienced catastrophic financial hardship in doing so.
The pandemic has sent us further back, with over 90% of countries reporting disruptions in essential services.
Compounding this are the existential crises of climate change, food insecurity, and prolonged conflict.
We live in troubling times.
The need for universal health coverage in all countries is more obvious and urgent than ever.
Our resolve must be stronger than ever;
And our vision must be higher than ever.
That’s why one of WHO’s top priorities for the next five years is supporting countries to make a radical reorientation of their health systems towards primary health care, as the foundation of universal health coverage.
We know that 90% of essential health services can be delivered through primary health care.
Investing in primary health care could save over 60 million lives and increase global life expectancy by 6.7 years by 2030.
But we also know that there remains much work to be done to expand service coverage and financial protection, especially for the most marginalised and hardest-to-reach groups.
After all, it’s not universal health coverage if it’s not universal.
The conundrum many countries face is the urgent need for increased public financing for health, at precisely the time when economies are stagnating, budgets are squeezed, and inflation is rampant.
We get it.
There are no quick fixes or short-term solutions.
Most countries won’t reach universal health coverage tomorrow, or next year, or even by 2030.
But unless we all move with intention down that road, we will never get anywhere.
This is mission-critical for WHO; it’s central to what we do, and who we are.
We are resolutely committed to supporting all countries, inch by inch, village by village, to increase access to services, and reduce financial hardship.
The WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care is now supporting 120 countries, with a focus on the least-served, most marginalized populations.
But we can’t do this alone.
Through the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All, we’re working with our multilateral partners to support countries to deliver on their commitments on UHC, with a focus on primary health care.
A year from now, we will meet here in New York for the high-level meeting on UHC.
The world has changed, but our ambition has not:
A world in which no child misses out on vaccination;
No woman misses out on the sexual and reproductive care she needs;
No household need decide between food and medicine;
No community misses out on care where and when they need it.
Not health for most;
Not health for some;
Health for all.
I thank you.