WHO, football icons team up to achieve “health for all” on UHC Day

12 / 12 / 2022

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The World Health Organization (WHO) teamed up with international football icons to urge action by governments and people across the world to achieve health for all. UHC ensures that everyone, everywhere can access the support they need to be and stay healthy without being driven into financial hardship.

On the Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC Day) which falls on December 12, WHO is launching two new tools: one to help governments design and deliver the right service coverage packages for their populations; and a second to provide people with reliable information to support the everyday decisions they make to protect their health and well-being.

 “The World Cup is the greatest prize in football, and the greatest prize in life is good health and well-being,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Health is not a luxury for the rich, but a fundamental human right, and the foundation of peaceful, prosperous and sustainable economies and societies. The tools we are launching today will help governments and individuals to realize that right.”

UHC Day 2022 comes at a critical time when countries across the world are rebuilding from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while facing many other crises such as economic and energy constraints, climate change and conflict.

UHC Day kicks off the countdown to the high-level meeting on UHC which will be held at the United Nations General Assembly in 2023. Heads of State and Government, at the first high-level meeting on UHC in 2019, affirmed that health is a precondition for and an outcome and indicator of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. They strongly recommitted to achieve UHC by 2030 by scaling up the global effort to build a healthier world for all. The 2023 meeting is an opportunity to take stock of progress and galvanize political support and global action towards achieving UHC targets.