2025 UHC Day Champion
Junichi Kawata
Vice President of Izumi-no-kai, Japan
Project Research Fellow, Department of Public Policy,
Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo
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
For people living with chronic illness, universal health coverage is measured in something very simple: the ability to keep taking the medicine that keeps them alive. When treatment becomes unaffordable, health systems fail their purpose. Protecting patients from unbearable costs is not only financial policy - it is safeguarding life itself.
Mr. Kawata is a powerful advocate driving core UHC principles, particularly financial protection, as Vice President of Izumi-no-kai, the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) Patients and Families Group. CML requires lifelong, high-cost medication, making the "financial burden of medical expenses" the primary concern for 56% of patients. Currently, treatment abandonment occurs due to economic reasons. Anticipated increases in out-of-pocket maximums under the High-Cost Medical Expense Benefit System (HCMES) were feared to lead to "silent suicides".
Mr. Kawata played a central role in advocacy against raising the HCMES out-of-pocket maximum, including co-leading an urgent petition that gathered over 135,000 signatures. These and other collective efforts contributed to the government’s decision to freeze its initial proposal. His work has helped safeguard access to life-sustaining treatment for patients requiring long-term care and represents a tangible step toward achieving UHC goals.
