IA2030 – IG 3.2 Strengthen universal health coverage

Index

Indicator selected for global monitoring for Immunization Agenda 2030 Impact Goal Indicator 3.2

Indicators of service coverage – defined as people receiving the service they need – are the best way to track progress in providing services under the universal health coverage (UHC). Since a single health service indicator does not suffice for monitoring UHC, the UHC service coverage index (SCI) is constructed from 14 tracer indicators selected based on epidemiological and statistical criteria. UHC is defined as ensuring that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation) of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user the financial hardship. The indicator will only focus on the service coverage component of the UHC-SCI because immunization programmes’ contribution to UHC is primarily through service coverage.

UHC SCI values, which are computed as the geometric mean (0-100) of 14 tracer indicators, organized by four broad categories of service coverage:

I. Reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health

1. Family planning

2. Pregnancy care

3. Child immunization

4. Child treatment

II. Infectious diseases

5. Tuberculosis

6. HIV/AIDS

7. Malaria

8. Water, sanitation and hygiene

III. Noncommunicable diseases

9. Hypertension

10. Diabetes

11. Tobacco

IV. Service capacity and access

12. Hospital access

13. Health workforce

14. Health security

More details around the tracer indicators can be found in the SDG 3.8.1 metadata: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-03-08-01.pdf

• Baseline year: 2019

• Target: Improve UHC Index of Service Coverage at country, regional, and global levels over baseline values

Universal Health Coverage (UHC): Ensuring that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation) of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.

Coverage of essential health services: Average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and service capacity and access, among the general and the most disadvantaged population.

WHO Member States

Household surveys, Administrative data, Special facility surveys

Outcome

Below is a summary of steps to calculate the index. Detailed methodology for calculating indices, including the handling of missing values at country and regional levels, can be found in the SDG metadata repository updated on an annual basis.

Step 1: Collate data for all 14 tracer indicators and convert or rescale data for each indicator as needed to be on a scale from 0 (lowest value) to 100 (optimal value).

Step 2: Calculate a geometric mean across tracer indicator values for each of the four health service areas. In countries with low malaria burden, Tracer indicator 7: Malaria is dropped from the calculation

Step 3: Calculate the geometric mean of the four geometric mean values calculated in Step 2.

Population-weighted average of UHC service coverage index values across countries, using United Nations Population Division (UNPD) national population estimates (median fertility scenario)

N/A

N/A

Every two years

1-5 years

vpdata@who.int

7793

Due to data limitations, not all tracer indicators used to compute the index are direct measures of service coverage. These proxy indicators will be replaced in future years when more data become available. The selected tracer indicators are meant to represent the broad range of essential health services necessary for progress towards UHC; they should not be interpreted as a recommended basket of services.