On 12 December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) as an essential priority for international development.

In 2014, the Universal Health Coverage Coalition started celebrating 12 December as UHC Day, to commemorate the date on which the UN General Assembly officially recognised the importance of UHC. Since then, the day has become the annual rallying point for the global movement for Health for All. 

In 2017, the UNGA proclaimed 12 December as International Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) by resolution, making it an official UN-designated day. 

UHC Day aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems and universal health coverage. Each year on 12.12, UHC advocates raise their voices to share the stories of the millions of people worldwide still waiting for health, to call on leaders to make bigger and smarter investments in health, and to remind the world that Health for All is a human right and an imperative to create equitable and resilient societies.

The 2024 UHC Day campaign will launch on 3 October!

Join us on 3 October 2024 for the official launch of the 2024 UHC Day campaign.

Over the last 20 years, financial protection has progressively deteriorated, with 2 billion people experiencing financial hardship and 1.3 billion people pushed into poverty due to out-of-pocket health costs. That is why this year’s UHC Day campaign will focus on urging countries to strengthen financial protection and reduce financial barriers to accessing essential health services and products, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable. 

Join UHC2030 and the Coalition of Partnerships for Universal Health Coverage and Global Health for a one-hour webinar on how reducing financial barriers to health services can accelerate progress towards health and well-being. During this event, we will announce the 2024 UHC Day campaign theme, share this year’s resources, and answer questions about the campaign and how you can engage with it to strengthen your advocacy.

Closed captioning and interpretation in French, Spanish and International Sign Language will be available.

Register here

UHC2030's role

Since our establishment in 2016, UHC2030 has supported the organization of UHC Day events. But our role is growing.

Another 2017 UNGA resolution also recognised UHC2030 as the most relevant group to support to Member States in developing and strengthening sustainable UHC initiatives at the national level. Building on this experience and mandate, UHC2030 is uniquely positioned to coordinate partners around UHC Day across the world and is now leading these efforts.

Leading transparently and collaboratively, UHC2030 convenes a multi-stakeholder Coordination Group on International UHC Day (12.12.CG) that includes Member States, multilateral organisations, health-related initiatives, civil society, parliamentarians, philanthropic foundations, the private sector and academia.

The 12.12.CG is responsible for developing the identity and campaign materials for UHC Day, building on the existing efforts of other relevant UHC initiatives.

Useful resources