#HealthForAll: 5 reasons why

Friday, December 12, 2014

On the first-ever Universal Health Coverage Day, December 12, 2014, a historic global coalition calls for universal health coverage to be a cornerstone of the sustainable development agenda and a priority for all nations. Why? Here are five good reasons.

Because no one should go bankrupt when they get sick.

  • Lack of affordable, quality health care traps families and nations in poverty.
  • 1 billion people lack basic health care, and 100 million fall into poverty every year trying to access needed services.
  • ~1/3 of households in Africa and Southeast Asia borrow money or sell assets to pay for health care.

Because universal health coverage is attainable.

  • 80+ countries, including 30 of the world’s poorest, have taken steps toward UHC.
  • Countries implementing universal health coverage are seeing the benefits: healthier communities and stronger economies.
  • There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to universal health coverage.
  • Countries are designing their own unique pathways toward health for all and finding new ways to exchange lessons learned on the ground.

Because universal health coverage can help stop the world’s biggest killers.

  • The poorest and most marginalized populations bear the brunt of preventable maternal deaths and diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases (e.g., cancer and heart disease).
  • The Ebola crisis clearly demonstrates the urgent need to strengthen health systems everywhere.
  • To fight these health threats, we must reach the populations consistently hit hardest by them all.

Because health transforms communities, economies and nations.

  • Every $1 invested in health can produce $9-$20 in full-income growth by 2035.
  • Money that families have to spend on health is money that can’t be spent on sending a child to school, starting a business or coping with an emergency.
  • UHC policies create resilient health systems with two major benefits: in times of distress, they mitigate shocks to people’s lives and livelihoods; in times of calm, they improve a community’s social cohesion and economic productivity.

Because health is a right, not a privilege.

  • Access to quality health care should never depend on where you live, how much money you have or your race, gender or age.
  • The World Health Organization’s Constitution affirms that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental human right, and more than half of the world’s countries have included the right to health, public health or medical care in their national constitutions. 

The bottom line: Universal health coverage saves lives, strengthens nations, and is achievable in every country.

Join World Vision and Child Health Now on December 12 in advocating for #HealthForAll. Now more than ever, we must #stopatnothing until health care is available to every person and child.