Record UHC Day engagement driven by collective advocacy
20th February 2026
The 2025 UHC Day report shows a record number of government commitments, events and media mentions, along with a strong increase in almost all other metrics for the annual campaign.
The 2025 UHC Day campaign formed part of a three-year push (2024–2026) around financial protection to inspire concrete actions from leaders and policy-makers around the world. Following the 2024 campaign, which called out governments directly for their responsibility to provide UHC with the theme ‘Health: It’s on the government!’, 2025 focused on the lived experience of people facing financial barriers to health services.
The theme ‘Unaffordable health costs? We’re sick of it!’ elevated their stories to illustrate that unaffordable health costs are making our communities poorer and sicker, with hundreds of millions of people struggling to afford healthcare or giving up basic needs to get the care they need for their families. Focusing on social participation and advocacy, the campaign pushed for immediate, tangible action to uphold the right to health.
Through a set of resources including the toolkit for campaigners, a social participation series on Substack, and ready-to-use advocacy templates, the campaign provided practical tools and easy ways for individuals and groups around the world to influence their local and national policy-makers. It was designed to support grassroots movements for UHC around the globe and empower people to speak up for their right to health.
The bold visual and people-centred designs and messages inspired voices from countries in every region around the world to ring out on 12 December in support of UHC. The campaign materials featured prominently on social media, and the theme was included in many online articles. Campaigner engagement was positive and has paved the way for continued promotion of UHC Day and the key messages through the year and in the lead up to the 2026 campaign.
For a recap of country engagement, key campaign events and initiatives, media coverage, advocacy highlights, and a spotlight on the 2025 UHC champions, read the report.
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Background:
UHC Day has been celebrated globally as an official United Nations day of recognition since 2017. Since its establishment in 2016, UHC2030 is proud to have supported partners around the world in organizing events each UHC Day. Building on its experience and mandate, UHC2030 is uniquely positioned to coordinate UHC Day observations across the UN system and in countries around the world.
