Billions left behind on path to universal health coverage – WHO, World Bank report

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank have jointly published the 2023 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Global Monitoring Report, revealing an alarming stagnation in the progress towards universal health coverage.
This means providing people everywhere with quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare.
Released amid the High-Level Meeting on UHC at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, this report exposes a stark reality based on the latest available evidence – that more than half of the world’s population is still not covered by essential health services.
Furthermore, two billion people face severe financial hardship when paying out-of-pocket for the services and products they need.
WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reflected, “The COVID-19 pandemic was a reminder that healthy societies and economies depend on healthy people. The fact that so many people cannot benefit from affordable, quality, essential health services not only put their own health at risk, it also puts the stability of communities, societies, and economies at risk. We urgently need stronger political will, more aggressive investments in health, and a decisive shift to transform health systems based on primary health care.”
The 2023 report found that, over the past two decades, less than a third of countries have improved health service coverage and reduced catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending.
Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank, Mamta Murthi said this report paints a dire picture but also offers evidence on ways to prioritise health in Government budgets and strengthen health systems for greater equity.
“We know that achieving universal health coverage is a critical step in helping people escape and stay out of poverty, yet there continues to be increased financial hardship, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable people.”
While health service coverage improved since the beginning of the century, progress has slowed since 2015, when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted. Notably, there was no improvement from 2019 to 2021.
While services for infectious diseases have seen significant gains since 2000, there has been little to no improvement in service coverage for noncommunicable diseases and reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services in recent years.
In 2021, about 4.5 billion people, more than half of the global population, were not fully covered by essential health services. This estimate does not yet reflect the potential long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Achieving universal health coverage by 2030 is crucial for fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and realising the fundamental human right to health.
To reach the goal of universal health coverage, the WHO said substantial public sector investment and accelerated action by governments and development partners are essential. Key actions include a radical reorientation of health systems towards a primary healthcare approach, advancing equity in healthcare access and financial protection, and investing in robust health information systems.
These shifts are essential to counter the impact of COVID-19 on health systems and the health workforce globally, as well as the new challenges posed by macroeconomic, climate, demographic, and political trends that threaten hard-won health gains worldwide.