2025 UHC Day Champion
Heri Marwa
Country Director for PharmAccess, Tanzania
Browse other champions
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- Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite, Founder and President of UNITE - Parliamentarian’s Network for Global Health
- Dr. Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Vice Chair and Senior Advisor, International Health Policy Program Foundation, Thailand
- Solange Mbaye, Regional Programme Manager for Amref Health Africa, Senegal
- Levy Mkandawire, Programme Manager for Amref Health Africa, Zambia
- Concepta Kwaleyela, President of the Midwives Association of Zambia
- Professor Anne Beatrice Kihara, Former President of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Kenya
- Hester Mkwinda Nyasulu, Country Manager for Amref, Malawi
- Habibou Ouedraogo, Health Economist, Ministry of Health, Burkina Faso
- Hon. Hyun-Young Shin, Congresswoman, 21st National Assembly of Republic of Korea
Universal health coverage (UHC) is built through the daily work that ensures no pregnant woman and no child is denied care because they cannot pay. By using the digital technology opportunity to strengthen quality primary health care and closely tracking every patient who needs support, we turn UHC from a promise into a reality for the communities we serve.
Dr. Heri Marwa is a proven leader in advancing universal health coverage (UHC) in Tanzania through policy innovation, strategic partnerships, and health financing reforms. He helped pioneer the Improved Community Health Fund, transforming a fragmented community scheme into a pooled, benefit-defined, and more equitable model that expanded coverage for the poor and laid essential groundwork for the Universal Health Insurance Act. His leadership at PharmAccess further strengthened regional pooling, digital enrolment, capitation payments, and referral systems—innovations that shaped today’s national UHC architecture.
Dr. Marwa has also supported Zanzibar’s Health Financing Strategy, benefits package design, and the Health Equity Fund to ensure protection for vulnerable groups. His advocacy for maternal health financing, development of the MomCare model, and long-standing work expanding inclusive insurance, quality improvement, and healthcare investments further demonstrate his UHC impact.
