16.12.2016

Article by Margaret Chan, WHO, and Gro Harlem Brundtland, The Elders

Universal Health Coverage: an affordable goal for all

Thomson Reuters Foundation. "When all 193 member states of the United Nations agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals in New York last year, they set out an ambitious agenda for a safer, fairer and healthier world by 2030.

The goals include a broad array of targets across different sectors. But one target in particular stood out as a beacon of hope for a healthier world: To achieve universal health coverage (UHC). UHC is based on the principle that all individuals and communities should receive the quality health services they need without suffering financial hardship.

International and national policymakers and grassroots activists alike recognize that UHC is an idea whose time has come. In the words of Amartya Sen, the renowned Indian economist, it is an “affordable dream”. And economics is on our side." (Photo: Noticaribe/flickr)