23 September 2019, New York – The President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande convened a full day high-level meeting on universal health coverage (UHC), consisting of a plenary segment and two consecutive multi-stakeholder panels held in parallel to the plenary. This first High-level meeting on universal health coverage, held under the theme “Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World,” was the most significant opportunity to date to mobilize the global community and secure political commitment from Heads of State and Government to accelerate progress toward achieving universal health coverage by 2030, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
Opening Segment
At the outset of the opening segment, Member States approved an action-oriented political declaration agreed in advance by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations, to be adopted by the 74th session of the General Assembly. The General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande provided opening remarks, stressing the need for global solidarity and commitment to achieving UHC as part of the 2030 Agenda, while underscoring health a human right, not a privilege. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, welcomed the political declaration on UHC as “the most comprehensive agreement ever reached on global health”. Emphasizing the moral and economic imperative of achieving UHC to address troubling inequities in the health sector, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared UHC a political choice and congratulated world leaders for signalling their readiness to make that choice. World Bank President, Mr. David Malpass, complemented these remarks from an economic and human development perspective, noting the returns on investment of sustainably financing health – one of the global economy’s largest sectors. The final remarks of the opening segment were presented by Dr. Gro Brundtland, member of The Elders, and designated eminent high-level champion of UHC. Dr. Brundtland issued a strong call for political leaders to “legislate, invest and collaborate with all of society to make UHC a reality,” with emphasis on equity, public financing, and the human right to health for all.
Plenary Segment
Over 160 Member States, as well as several Observers, inscribed to speak in the plenary segment. Due to time constraints national statements were presented by 84 officials, including Heads of State and Government and Ministers.
Multi-stakeholder Panels
Two multi-stakeholder panels, held in parallel to the plenary segment, provided a platform for multi-sectoral stakeholders to further discuss key elements for achieving UHC.
The first panel, on the theme of “UHC as a driver of equity, inclusive development and prosperity for all,” was co-chaired by H.E. Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh and H.E. Mr. Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain. Panelists included: Ms. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Ms. Maha Taysir Barakat, Chair of the Board of the Partnership to end Malaria; Ms. Winnie Byanyima, Deputy Director of Oxfam International; and Mr. Jeffrey Sachs, Professor and Director at the Centre of Sustainable Development, Columbia University.
Interventions from the floor were made by: the Russian Federation, Uruguay, Brazil, Slovakia, Italy, Canada, Iceland, Nigeria, Singapore, France, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Gavi, UHC2030 and the UN Major Group for Children and Youth.
Throughout an interactive discussion, this panel explored health as a precondition for and an indicator and outcome of the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Participants noted existing barriers in the health sector, stressing that political commitment to overcome major gaps in funding will be necessary to achieve UHC. Consensus around primary health care (PHC) as the foundation for UHC was clear, with specific highlights on high impact interventions, such as immunization and approaches for addressing malaria. There was a clear call throughout the panel to engage all of society, particularly youth civil society, to ensure UHC reaches those most in need.
The second panel, on the theme of “Accelerating multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder action and investments for achieving UHC”, was co-chaired by Dr. Adolfo Rubinstein, Minister of Health of Argentina and H.E. Don Pramudwinai, Foreign Minister of Thailand. Panelists included: Ms. Helen Clark, Chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health; Mr. Omar Ishrak, Chairman and CEO of Medtronic; Ms. Ngozi Okonio-Iweala, Former Minister of Finance of Nigeria and Board Chair of Gavi; and Mr. Keizo Takemi, Member of the Japanese House of Chancellor and WHO UHC Goodwill Ambassador.
Interventions from the floor were made by: the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Colombia, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Turkmenistan, Thailand, Estonia, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Spain, the Philippines, UNICEF, The Global Fund, World Economic Forum (joint private sector statement), and IOM.
The discussion in panel two focused on the investment case for UHC. As one of the main sectors of the global economy, the health sector has the potential to produce large returns on investment, both in terms of health gains and for equitable and inclusive economic growth. It was noted that although many countries are reforming their health systems, many gaps and challenges still remain, including an estimated additional $371 billion in annual health spending needed in low- and middle-income countries to achieve UHC by 2030. Countries from all regions and at all levels of income will need to mobilize more domestic resources (including reallocation within the budget and a net increase in some settings), increase the equity and efficiency of existing resources, and harmonize investments in health. Participants emphasized that optimizing spending for efficiency gains will involve not just policy and programme decisions within the sector but also smart inter-sectoral dialogue and allocation decisions for combined multi-sectoral policies. Recognizing that the transformative possibilities of technology can create the PHC of the future, participants also cautioned that much more understanding and research is needed on how best to invest and deploy this new technology to avoid driving greater inequality.
Closing Segment
The President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, facilitated a brief closing segment, which included the participation of WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan; and Mrs. Melinda Gates, Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, each calling to sustain the political momentum for UHC and take the political declaration forward at country level.