In 2015, United Nations member states agreed to make Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030 one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Why? Because without satisfactory health coverage for individuals, the well-being of a nation is put into question. It also makes good economic sense, both for the individual and the country.

Global efforts to achieve UHC must begin by identifying the most deprived communities and breaking down the barriers to good health. But how can this be done?

  1. Deploy a multi-pronged effort: Health services must be of sufficient quality to ensure that the public will trust and use them. Frontline health workers must be trained, paid, and at work; health facilities must be functional with essential supplies.
  2. Integrate services: Good health does not exist in a vacuum. It is inextricably linked to education, sanitation, nutrition, and all other factors that influence the well-being of children and families.
  3. Consider accountability: When people are empowered to provide feedback and shape the services they receive, then quality, demand, and health outcomes improve. Accountability does not stop at the community level, but extends from the village clinic to the ministry of health.

Read the full article on universal health coverage by Luwei Pearson at Devex International Development