The 2023 UN HLM on UHC was a moment to renew commitment to UHC and set the path for action and investment
28 Sep 2023
UN High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage 2023
The 2023 UN High-level meeting (UN HLM) on universal health coverage (UHC) took place on 21 September 2023. It provided countries and stakeholders an opportunity to reinvigorate progress towards delivering health for all.
During the meeting, Member States unanimously recognized that universal health coverage (UHC) is fundamental to achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – not only those related to health and well-being (SDG 3), but also those related to poverty eradication, access to education, gender equality, climate change and building peaceful and inclusive societies.
The Political Declaration which was adopted during the opening of the meeting can be used to identify a path forward for ensuring the health and well-being of people everywhere and for correcting the course of action for the billions of people who do not have access to health services or who face financial hardship in doing so.
"As an issue that cuts across ever Sustainable Development Goal, health tells us how well we are delivering on our entire 2030 Agenda, from ending poverty and tackling climate change, to building safe and peaceful societies."
Engage, advocate and participate
Now that world leaders have recommitted to achieving UHC by 2030, it's time to hold them accountable. All partners in the UHC movement, whether government representatives, parliamentarians, academia, civil society or the private sector, must hold countries accountable and ensure that the commitments made at the 2023 UN HLM on UHC are translated into concrete action that advances UHC at the community, regional, national and global levels.
We encourage all partners to continue to use the UHC2030 tools as a basis for coordinated advocacy efforts. And don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for updates and to visit our UHC Day page to prepare for this year's campaign.
There are many other ways to engage, advocate, and participate in the UHC movement. For information about UHC progress, refer to the UHC Data Portal and the State of UHC Commitment. You can also find additional messaging and resources here.
Action Agenda from the UHC Movement
The Action Agenda from the UHC Movement was drafted by an inclusive, multi-stakeholder Task Force, which brought together twenty representatives from UHC2030 constituencies and beyond. Building on the 2019 Key Asks and commitment areas, it is based on the latest data to address the challenges of the global health context.
The Action Agenda, with action-oriented policy recommendations and concrete milestones, was presented to the President of the UN General Assembly ahead of the 2023 UHC political declaration negotiation.
UHC2030 and the 2023 UHC HLM
In September 2019, at the first United Nations High-Level Meeting (UN HLM) on UHC, world leaders endorsed the most ambitious and comprehensive political declaration on health in history. However, according to the latest global monitoring report on universal health coverage, UHC progress is not on track, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world further away from the 2023 targets set by the political declaration:
- Progressively covering 1 billion additional people, with a view of covering all people by 2030;
- Stopping the rise and reversing the trend of catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditure and eliminate impoverishment due to health-related expenses by 2030.
UHC2030’s latest State of UHC Commitment Review Key Findings also find that in 2022, progress on UHC has stalled and in some cases has reversed. Accelerating progress towards universal health coverage and delivering on political commitments made in 2019 has never been more urgent. Concrete action is needed to strengthen equitable health systems – including public health functions that are critical for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Our vision and goals
The COVID-19 pandemic has further widened inequities in access to essential health services. It has also shown how under-investment in health systems based on primary health care exposes all people and countries to health threats. It also results in catastrophic costs for people, governments and for the global economy.
UHC strengthens the resilience of people and countries - in both crisis and calm. Now more than ever, we need urgent, concrete action to build resilient and equitable health systems – including public health functions that are critical for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The 2023 High-Level Meeting on UHC was an opportunity to reinvigorate progress towards delivering health for all. The Political Declaration which was adopted during the opening of the meeting can be used to identify a path forward for ensuring the health and well-being of people everywhere and for correcting the course of action for the billions of people who do not have access to health services or who face financial hardship in doing so.
Our contribution
UHC2030 is the global movement to build stronger health systems for universal health coverage (UHC). Ahead of the UN High-level Meeting (HLM) on UHC 2023, UHC2030 played the following roles in close collaboration with its diverse partners:
- Providing updates on the status of UHC progress and commitments through the State of UHC Commitment review and country profiles through the UHC Data Portal.
- Coordinating a multi-stakeholder consultation process to prepare the Action Agenda from the UHC Movement before the multi-stakeholder convened by the President of the General Assembly.
- Supporting the preparation of UN HLM multi-stakeholder hearings and multi-stakeholder panels in 2023, including on areas of multi-sectoral action and synergies with other health-related HLMs (on tuberculosis and pandemic preparedness, prevention and response), the 2023 SDG Summit, SDG3 and other SDG processes.
- Mobilizing high-level UHC champions from the UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel, the UHC2030 Steering Committee, and other partners to support political advocacy for the UN HLM on UHC 2023.
- Mobilizing the Coalition of Partnerships for UHC and Global Health to advocate for a comprehensive and ambitious Political Declaration.
- Organizing events and campaigns, and providing information on UHC and the HLM, including ways for advocates, campaigners and other stakeholders to engage.
After the UN HLM on UHC 2023, UHC2030 continues to stimulate public and multi-stakeholder interest in the UHC agenda and advocate for urgent action through related events, including UHC Day on 12 December.
