Next Steps Towards Universal Health Coverage Call for Global Leadership

Abstract

Universal health coverage (UHC) has been identified as a priority for international development by the G20, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations General Assembly. Since it was explicitly incorporated into the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as target 3.8, much effort has been expended on promoting UHC. Here we focus on four areas that, on current trajectories, are unlikely to achieve sufficient progress to meet the target. These are also areas for which G20 can provide substantial leverage: the principle of “leaving no one behind,” particularly in migrant health and genuine support for primary care; reliable domestic financing, which requires enlightened leadership and deliberate dialogue between finance and health sectors; harnessing and regulating medical and technological innovation; and mutual learning and harmonised aid among donor countries. We call on G20 leaders, who will meet in Osaka in June 2019, to take concrete action on these issues.

This article is based on a policy brief prepared by a working group convened by the Government of Japan as host of the Think 20 summit in Tokyo in May 2019.1 Our work has received input from a wide ranging global group of thought leaders, some of whom represent civil society, including patients and the general public.