Every year, December 12 is observed as Universal Health Day (also known as Universal Health Coverage Day – UHC Day), which is the annual major focus of the growing Universal Health campaign to guarantee that everybody, anywhere, has access to affordable health care, when and when they need it, without leading them to financial hardship.
International Universal Health Coverage Day is designed to raise awareness with multi-stakeholder partners about the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage. On December 12, each year, UHC advocates raise their voices to share the experiences of the millions of individuals still waiting for health care. They support what has so far been accomplished, call on politicians to make greater and smarter health investments, and inspire a variety of organization’s to commit themselves to helping get the world closer to UHC by 2030.
What is Universal Health Coverage?
Universal health coverage is defined as ensuring that all individuals have sufficient quality access to the necessary health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliation) to be effective, while also ensuring that the user is not exposed to financial hardship by the use of these services. Universal health coverage has therefore become the main objective and a priority objective of the WHO for health reform in many countries.
The theme of Universal Health Coverage Day 2023
This year, the theme of Universal Health Coverage Day 2023 is Health for All: Time for Action
It’s time to take aggressive steps to put progress back on track now that the international community has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all. Let’s push our legislators to pass laws that assure fair access to basic healthcare services for all people, regardless of their ability to pay, and that everyone has the right to good health and wellbeing.
The theme for this year also serves as a reminder that nations need to make investments in robust and equitable health systems, with primary healthcare serving as the cornerstone, in light of the growing number of health concerns associated to climate change. We can hold our leaders responsible and ensure universal health care by 2030 by collaborating across sectors, including the public and corporate sectors, non-governmental organizations, and civil society.
We need to invest in health systems that protect us all in order to end that crisis and build a healthier and safer future.
Swikriti Dandotia
