Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for South-East Asia, stated that the global health organisation is fully committed to achieving health for all through universal health coverage (UHC) and making it easier for everyone to access necessary medical services without facing financial hardship.

Leaders and decision-makers from the region have acknowledged for years—and even before the 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata—the crucial role that access to universal, high-quality, inexpensive, and comprehensive primary education plays in promoting peace and development. As one of the eight flagship initiatives of the region since 2014, Dr. Singh stated that this has been amply demonstrated by the regions reinvigorated, ten-year effort to attain UHC.

According to WHO data, the UHC service coverage index in the said region rose from 47 to 61 between 2010 and 2019, while the percentage of households that experienced poverty or additional poverty as a result of out-of-pocket medical expenses decreased from 30% to 6% between 2000 and 2017. Almost 40% of individuals in the region are currently unable to get necessary health care due to the COVID-19 problem.

She advised that, as highlighted by the 2021 strategy for primary health care as well as the vision to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic, whole-of-government and whole-of-society action is needed to drive rapid and sustained progress towards UHC and health for all.

Additionally, she noted that the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the importance of UHC and health system resilience for achieving a number of SDGs as well as social and economic stability. She added that high-level leaders should maintain and strengthen political and financial commitments to achieve UHC ahead of the second UN General Assembly meeting on UHC, to be held in September 2023.

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/who-calls-for-urgent-efforts-to-bridge-gaps-accentuated-by-covid-achieve-health-for-all/99299187)