uhc

This post originally appeared on The Lancet Global Health Blog.

A strong civil society is essential for realizing the lofty goal of achieving universal health coverage (UHC). While the ongoing global discussions around UHC have largely focused on the role of government and development partners in designing and implementing risk pooling mechanisms that have the potential to improve access to essential health services, there has been little discussion on the key role that local civil society organizations (CSOs) play to ensure various communities support UHC and hold governments accountable.

In the beginning of my medical career during the early 1990’s, I witnessed the devastating effects of HIV & AIDS.  Nearly 60 percent of the hospital beds I attended were filled with AIDS patients, many of them my close friends and colleagues. At the time, little was known about the AIDS epidemic; no effective treatments were available; and as a physician, I watched helplessly as day after day those closest to me suffered until their death.  

Today, almost three decades later, thanks to increased prevention and access to care and treatment for HIV, most of these hospital beds have emptied of HIV & AIDS patients.  Now, these same beds are filled by those suffering from preventable chronic diseases, including vaccine-preventable cancers.

Today, February 4, we commemorate World Cancer Day, joining the global community to raise awareness about the global cancer epidemic, and renew our commitment to address cancer in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

This special January 2014 edition of the Global Health Impact Newsletter (subscribe) features 12 stories from 2013 highlighting how MSH is saving lives by strengthening health systems at all levels--from the household to the community to the health facility to national authorities. The stories were selected through an internal storytelling contest (available in print soon).

We are also pleased to share a post from President and CEO Jonathan D. Quick outlining our vision for 2014.

A Note from Dr. Jonathan D. Quick

Vision 2014: UHC and the Opportunity for a Healthy Life

“A world where everyone has the opportunity for a healthy life.” This is MSH’s vision, guiding our efforts every day to save lives and improve health among the poorest and most vulnerable populations. In 2014, universal health coverage (UHC) will play a pivotal role in helping us attain this vision.  MSH has vigorously supported UHC because we’re committed to the human right to health, deeply embedded in UHC, and because it’s the only approach that transforms health systems to mobilize all available resources towards the affordable, quality health services that people need.

It was sudden and unexpected. It was also funny: the ball exploded and deflated right under Teferi's foot. But everybody started to worry when the director screamed: “We can’t shoot the next scene without the football! Somebody get me a new one!”

I looked at the young boy actor. Tears were about to wash his gloomy face as the ball changed into a useless piece of flat plastic right before his cloudy eyes. "This is bad!" I said to myself. "The kid might not be willing to act anymore; we might be forced to start the production all over again!"

We were shooting one of the scenes for a TV public service announcement. Producing the TV spot is one of the major activities for the Health for All Campaign–the campaign supporting the popularization of Ethiopia’s New Health Insurance Scheme.

It was ironic: the TV spot promotes preparing for unforeseen emergencies. Yet, once the ball became useless, we realized that we were not ready for an emergency ourselves.

"Health care is a right for everyone -- rich or poor."

~ Jim Yong Kim in opening keynote at #csisLive

SmartGlobalHealth.org @SmartGlblHealth" href="https://twitter.com/SmartGlblHealth/status/423100667532566528">notified viewers that technical difficulties would prevent a live webcast; but organizations and individuals tweeting provided realtime coverage of today's "Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies" conference at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).

MSH President & CEO Dr. Quick on 9:30 AM panel; Watch webcast below

Hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), the one-day conference, "Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies," will feature Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank and other high-level panelists examining how universal health coverage (UHC) could improve health in low- and middle-income countries while preserving economic gains.

MSH President and CEO Dr. Jonathan D. Quick will join Ariel Pablos-Méndez of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Gina Lagomarsino of Results for Development, and Tim Evans of World Bank, for a 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. roundtable, moderated by Nellie Bristol of CSIS. Kim will give the opening keynote; Nils Daulaire of the US Department of Health and Human Services will address attendees during lunch.

In a new article in PLoS Medicine, MSH President and CEO Jonathan D. Quick argues that the global movement towards universal health coverage (UHC) can be a boon for women’s health—but only if it is designed, implemented and monitored correctly. The piece, coauthored by MSH’s Jonathan Jay and Harvard School Public Health’s Ana Langer, considers UHC’s ascendance as a leading priority in global health and addresses concerns that UHC efforts might leave women’s health behind.

The authors propose a “gender-sensitive approach” to UHC which would prioritize key women’s health interventions, respond to social and economic barriers to care, and judge health systems according to their performance in women’s health. This approach could guide policymakers and advocates at the country and global level, with an eye towards the position of UHC in the post-2015 United Nations development framework.

Read the article

This post originally appeared on Devex.com.

Worldwide, there are severe shortfalls in the health workforce—not just in the quantity of doctors, nurses and other health workers, but in their management, performance and geographical distribution.

These shortfalls are particularly glaring in light of the global movement for universal health coverage, progress toward which will require a high-functioning workforce.

This month’s third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, which convened global health policymakers in Recife, Brazil, trumpeted the need for political commitment to health workforce strengthening. With UHC a top priority of conference sponsors like the World Health Organization, conference discussions were framed as seeking solutions—such as improving retention and performance, or health workers’ advocacy—“toward UHC.”

This post also appeared on Gates Foundation's Impatient Optimists Blog and on Frontline Health Workers Coalition's website.

In a week and a half, as a team of our colleagues arrive in Ethiopia for this year’s International Conference on Family Planning, others will already be in Brazil for the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health. This year’s HRH Forum addresses universal health coverage (UHC), a concept which continues to gain momentum as the focus of global health efforts from institutions like the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO).

It’s symbolic that these two meetings are happening half a world apart: as movements around family planning, health workforce and UHC have advanced, there has been too little dialogue and collaboration across these communities.