Health security pillar of sustainable development

 

This is contained in a press release issued by a new global coalition of more than 500 leading health and development organizations worldwide launched on Thursday at the two-year anniversary of  United Nations Resolution, unanimously passed on 12 December 2012, which endorsed universal health coverage as a pillar of sustainable development and global security.

 

According the press release each year, 100 million people fall into poverty because they or a family member becomes seriously ill and they have to pay for care out of their own pockets.

 

 “Around one billion people worldwide can’t even access the health care they need, paving the way for disease outbreaks to become catastrophic epidemics,” reads part of the press release.

The new global coalition is urging governments to accelerate reforms that ensure everyone, everywhere, can access quality health services without being forced into poverty.

 

The coalition stresses the importance of universal access to health services for saving lives, ending extreme poverty, building resilience against the health effects of climate change and ending deadly epidemics such as Ebola.

 

“The need for equitable access to quality health care has never been greater, and there is unprecedented demand for universal health coverage around the world,” the press release quotes Michael Myers, Managing Director of The Rockefeller Foundation, which is spearheading Universal Health Coverage Day.

 

 “Universal health coverage is an idea whose time has come – because health for all saves lives, strengthens nations and is achievable and affordable for every country,” adds Myers.

 

However the coalition acknowledges the increase of countries embracing universal health coverage now compared to 20th century, “ universal health coverage was limited to a few high-income countries, but in the past two decades, a number of lower- and middle-income countries have successfully embraced reforms to make quality health care universally available,” reads the press release.

 

Countries as diverse as Brazil, Ghana, Mexico, Rwanda, Turkey and Thailand according to the press release have made tremendous progress toward universal health coverage in recent years.

 

To show that universal health coverage is achievable the coalition points that, the two most populous countries, India and China, are pursuing universal health coverage, and more than 80 countries have asked the World Health Organization for implementation assistance.

 

“Putting people’s health needs ahead of their ability to pay stems poverty and stimulates growth,” said Dr. Tim Evans, Senior Director for the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice at the World Bank Group. “Universal health coverage is an essential ingredient to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity within a generation.”

 

“Ebola is only the most recent example of why universal health coverage is the most powerful concept in public health,” Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny , Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation at the World Health Organization has been quoted by the press release.

 

“Investing in strong, equitable health systems is the only way to truly protect and improve lives, particularly in the face of emerging threats like the global rise of non-communicable diseases and increasingly severe natural disasters,” added the Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation at the World Health Organization.

 

Commenting on the day, Kebwe Stevephen Kebwe Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services, told this reporter over the phone yesterday that, Tanzania is committed to implementing universal health coverage to enable her citizens, the have and the have not to equitably access health services regardless of their geographical location and financial status.

 

“The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Social Services in collaboration with a team of experts drawn from various ministries and departments are working on that by 2025 Tanzania will have 75% universal health coverage,” The Deputy Minister told The Guardian.

 

According Kebwe, so far a team of experts has visited Ghana, Malaysia and Singapore to learn about how to implement universal health coverage.  

 

The Rockeffeller Foundation is spearheading this new global coalition in collaboration with World Health Organization and World Bank Group.