Social Workers Association of Alberta(swaa)

10th December 2024 00:00 UTC

International Universal Health Coverage Day 2024

In comparison to other commemorative days proposed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the acknowledgement of International Universal Health Coverage Day is relatively newer but equally as important. On December 12, 2012, the UN General Assembly proposed that every member state of the UN work towards the goal of implementing the concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) into their respective national health policies. Five years later in 2017, the UN declared the 12th of December as the International Universal Health Coverage Day.

At its core, UHC is the belief that every person throughout the world should have access to the full range of quality and affordable health care without the risk of financial hardship, and if nations do not yet have this policy, their governments need to take steps towards making this goal into a reality. A full range of services means that clients will be treated from continuum of health care services including health promotion and prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and even palliative care. This goal is embedded in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 3.8 which aims to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

The three dimensions of UHC include population coverage (determining who receives services), service coverage (determining what health services are available), and financial protection (ensuring health services do not lead to financial hardship). Accordingly, the social justice principles that UHC is based on include equity, non-discrimination and the right to health which ensures that no one is left behind and that even the most marginalized communities are granted access and coverage for the treatment that they need.

Read more: https://www.myswaa.ca/news/international-universal-health-coverage-day-2024

Other events

The Geneva Learning Foundation

Build the world we want: Immunization on the road to Primary Health Care (PHC) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

18th December 2024 13:00 UTC
Geneva, Switzerland

GFF, World Bank, WHO

Financement de la santé: comment utiliser au mieux l'outil juridique ? (Webinaire du 16 décembre)

16th December 2024 13:00 UTC
Dakar, Senegal

WHO

launch of the WHO collaborating centre of UHC in China, with the National Health Commission and Tsinghua University.

16th December 2024 00:00 UTC
Beijing, China