The UHC2030 governance structure aims to ensure effective coordination, to bring mutual value to partners without adding unnecessary complexity or bureaucratic burden. Representation and inclusivity are essential for our legitimacy, with broad multi-stakeholder engagement in activities and decision-making processes. 

The main governance structures for UHC2030 are the: 

  • Steering Committee
  • UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel
  • Secretariat

The UHC2030 Steering Committee has also established a Task Force to advise the Secretariat on accountability for results.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is responsible for setting overall strategic directions and oversight of UHC2030. It includes a constituency-based representation that enables broader representation and a more participatory process. 

The Steering Committee includes the constituencies listed below.

The current Co-Chairs of the UHC2030 Steering Committee are Ms Gabriela Cuevas Barron, former member of Parliament at the Mexican Congress and honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Australian community advocate Dr Justin Koonin, President of AIDS Council of New South Wales (ACON).

Read: UHC2030 welcomes new Co-Chairs of the Steering Committee

Download: Terms of reference for the UHC2030 Steering Committee

Co-Chairs

  • Gabriela Cuevas Barron has been Co-Chair of the UHC2030 Steering Committee since 2021 and was a member of the UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel in 2020. 

    She is a Commissioner at the Chatham House Commission for Universal Health. She was also a member of The Lancet Covid-19 Commission where she served as Co-Chair of the Commission’s Task Force on Humanitarian Relief, Social Protection, & Vulnerable Groups and was a member of the Task Force on Global Health Diplomacy and Cooperation and the Regional Task Force for Latin America. 

    Active in politics since she was 15 years old, Gabriela was elected Federal Member of Parliament for the first time at age 21. She has been Federal Member of Parliament three times, Local Member of Parliament and a Constituent Member of Parliament in the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City. Additionally, she was the first woman to be elected Mayor of the Miguel Hidalgo Delegation. She also chaired the Foreign Relations Commission when she served as Senator.

    In 2017 Gabriela Cuevas Barron became the youngest President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). In her term, Gabriela worked to increase the prominence and relevance of the IPU as the global institution for parliamentarians. She is currently the Honorary President of the IPU. She was decorated with the grade of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the Government of France, and the Cavaliere di Gran Croce, Ordine Equestre di Saint’ Agata on behalf of the Government of the Republic of San Marino.

  • Justin Koonin is co-chair of UHC2030, the international multistakeholder partnership for universal health coverage. He is a member of multiple WHO expert panels, including for the Universal Health Preparedness Review, and on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs.

    He is Honorary Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales.

    At a national level, Justin is President of ACON (formerly AIDS Council of New South Wales), Australia’s largest civil society organisation working on HIV prevention, care and support, and the health of sexuality and gender-diverse people more broadly. He is a former chair of the New South Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, the peak advocacy body for gay and lesbian people in that state. 

    Justin Koonin’s work spans a diverse range of sectors. In addition to his efforts in health and human rights, he has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in mathematics at the University of Sydney, as a data scientist at PwC, and (currently) as a fund manager at Allan Gray. He holds a Ph.D. in Pure Mathematics from the University of Sydney, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder, as well as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Countries
  • Dr Bernd APPELT, Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
  • Dr Mohsen ASADI-LARI, Assistant Minister of Health and Medical Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran
  • Dr Patrick BANDA, Assistant Director, Budgeting and Planning, Ministry of Health, Zambia
  • Dr Satoshi EZOE, Director, Global Health Policy Division, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
  • Ms Tamar GABUNIA First Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, Georgia
  • Aurélie JOUSSET, Head of Global Health Policy Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France
  • Dr Emmanuel ODAME, Director, Policy, Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Health, Ghana
  • Dr Aquina THULARE, Technical Specialist, Health Economics/National Health Insurance Department of Health, South Africa
Civil society organizations
  • Dr Oanh Khuat Thi Hai, Founder and Executive Director, Centre for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI), Vietnam

  • Ms Smitha Sadasivan, India (nominated Alternate)

  • Mr Masaki INABA, Program Director, Global Health, Africa Japan Forum, Japan

  • Mr Cary JAMES, Chief Executive Officer, World Hepatitis Alliance (nominated Alternate)

  • Mr Javier Luis Bellocq, Founder and editor, Key Correspondents Team for Latin America, Argentina

  • Ms Evalin Karijo, Project Director, Y-ACTION, Youth in Action at Amref Health Africa, Kenya (nominated Alternate)

Foundations
  • Ms Kate Dodson, Vice President, Global Health, United Nations Foundation, United States of America
Private sector
  • Ms. Sofiat AKINOLA, Director, Health Policy and External Affairs, Roche, Switzerland 
  • Mr. Sebastian ARIAS, Global Policy Leader, Roche, Switzerland
  • Ms. Olesya STRUK, Senior Director, Sustainability and Access to Care, Philips, Netherland
Multilateral organizations

  • Mr Bruno RIVALAN, Senior Partnership Specialist, Global Financing Facility, World Bank, United States of America

  • Dr Fodé Simaga, Director a.i., Fast Track Implementation Department, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Switzerland

Co-host organizations
  • Mr Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director, Population, Health and Nutrition, the World Bank
  • Ms Francesca Colombo, Director, Health, Directorate for Employment, Labor and Social Affairs, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), France

 

Steering Committe Meeting Archives

UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel

The UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel provides guidance to the UHC2030 Steering Committee to strengthen political support for universal health coverage (UHC). Members are: 

  • Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
  • Dr. Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Former European Commissioner
  • Prof Ilona Kickbusch, Chair, International Advisory Board, Global Health Centre, Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies Geneva (Former Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, UHC2030)
  • Dr. Sania Nishtar, Member of the Senate of Pakistan
  • Joy Phumaphi, Executive Secretary, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (Former Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Every Woman, Every Child, Every Adolescent)
  • Ms. Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments
  • Mr. Elhadj As Sy, Chair of the Board, Kofi Annan Foundation
  • Prof. Keizo Takemi, Member of the House of Councillors, Japan
  • H.E. Mrs. Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal, Speaker of the Council of Representatives

Learn more about the advisory panel

Secretariat

The UHC2030 Secretariat is co-hosted by the World Health Organization, the World Bank and OECD. The three organisations have a shared responsibility to support UHC2030’s strategic vision and direction and to promote collective action for UHC. To fulfil this responsibility, the Secretariat ensures UHC2030 remains relevant and results-focused and keeps members engaged and up-to-date.

Secretariat functions include:

  • UHC2030 vision: to consolidate UHC2030 strategic narrative and engage UHC stakeholders to promote translation of UHC commitments into action in countries
  • UHC2030 governance: to ensure effective structures, processes and resources
  • Secretariat operations: to ensure efficient management and administration

Download: Terms of reference for the UHC2030 Secretariat

UHC2030 Task Force

The UHC2030 Task Force brings together representatives from the UHC2030 constituencies and other stakeholder groups to focus global and local effort on the UHC Political Declaration implementation and accountability. It supports the positioning of UHC2030 and elevates its strategic relevance to the global health community and beyond. 

The Task Force first came together in September 2022 to lead the development of the Action Agenda from the UHC Movement ahead of the three UN High-level meetings on health (UN HLM) in 2023. It was also instrumental in providing political advocacy and strategic communications support to UHC2030 in the lead-up to major health moments in 2023 (WHA, G7, G20). 

Following the adoption of the 2023 UHC HLM political declaration, the UHC Movement must sustain strong momentum for the implementation of universal health coverage in countries. The Task Force will use its expertise and expansive networks to advise UHC2030 Secretariat on accountability for results. 

Represented on the Task Force:  

  • Academic & Research (Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Health Systems Global) 
  • Climate change and health systems network (Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health) 
  • Coalition of Partnerships for UHC and Global Health (represented by NCD Alliance, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health) 
  • Digital health network (Transform Health) 
  • Local government networks (United Cities and Local Governments) 
  • Healthcare professional association (International Council of Nurses, World Medical Association) 
  • Healthcare student association (International Federation of Medical Students Associations, International Pharmaceutical Students Federation) 
  • Indigenous leadership initiatives (Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean) 
  • International Budget Partnership (Monitoring & Accountability)
  • Health security network (Global Health Security Network) 
  • Health Systems Related Initiatives (represented by Health Data Collaborative) 
  • Labour group (International Trade Union Confederation) 
  • Parliamentarian network (UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health) 
  • UHC2030 Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (represented by Advisory Group members International Planned Parenthood Federation and PATH) 
  • UHC2030 Country constituency (Egypt, France, Japan, South Africa) 
  • UHC2030 Global health initiatives constituency 
  • UHC2030 Philanthropic foundations constituency (Rockefeller Foundation, UN Foundation) 
  • UHC2030 Private sector constituency (represented by GE Healthcare, Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India) 
  • UHC2030 UN constituency (represented by UNICEF, IOM)  
  • Youth initiatives (WHO Youth Council) 
  • Women’s networks (Women Deliver, Women in Global Health) 

Former members who contributed to the UHC2030 Task Force in 2022 included:  

  • Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) 
  • Centro De Estudios Para La Equidad y Gobernanza En Los Sistema De Salud  
  • European Commission 
  • Georgia 
  • Republic of Ghana 
  • UN Major Group for Children and Youth