International Universal Health Coverage Day 12 Dec 2023 - Importance, Theme

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) will be feasible only when everyone, everywhere, has access to the health care they require. Communities should be given the ability to establish their own health priorities and participate in the development of appropriate solutions.

Healthcare and other sectors should collaborate to ensure that all health decisions are addressed in an integrated manner. This can be achieved by promoting policies to safeguard and strengthen the health and well-being of people, providing information, services, and infrastructure for improved water and sanitation, and addressing other environmental factors affecting health. Other measures include:

• Preventing non-communicable diseases, preparedness for and response to health emergencies
• Providing services for pregnant women
• Vaccination for children
• Sexual and reproductive health services
• Mental health support
• Platforms for community consultation etc 
• Other measures should also be provided to ensure overall health and well-being.

Health systems that prioritize primary healthcare and are accessible to people in their everyday environment produce better outcomes, promote equity, and improve efficiency. Implementing primary healthcare interventions across low- and middle-income countries could save 6 crores of lives and increase the average life expectancy by 3.7 years by 2030. This highlights the positive impact of focusing on people's needs and providing healthcare that is as close as possible to their everyday environment.

International Universal Health Coverage Day aims to raise awareness of the need for strong and resilient health systems in achieving universal health coverage and celebrate the progress towards health for all.

This year, 2023, the International Universal Health Coverage Day Theme is “Health for All: Time for Action”. The theme emphasizes the importance of achieving Universal Health Coverage for all. To make progress towards the goal, it is necessary to take immediate and concrete steps. Leaders are being called upon to implement policies that ensure equitable access to essential health services without causing financial hardship. The aim is to make good health and well-being a universal right rather than a privilege.

Year by year, the themes of International Universal Health Coverage Day are:

• International Universal Health Coverage Day 2022 Theme: Build the world we want: A healthy future for all
• International Universal Health Coverage Day 2021 Theme: Inequities undermine our efforts to protect, promote and improve health for all and, as a result, threaten social and economic development worldwide
• International Universal Health Coverage Day 2020 Theme: Health for all—Protect everyone
• International Universal Health Coverage Day 2019 Theme: Keep the Promise
• International Universal Health Coverage Day 2018 Theme: Unite for Universal Health Coverage: Now is the Time for Collective Action

On the 12th of December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly issued a resolution urging countries to accelerate their efforts to attain universal health coverage (UHC), which means that everyone should have access to quality and affordable healthcare. Later, on the 12th of December 2017, the United Nations adopted the Resolution 72/138, thus officially designating the day as International Universal Health Coverage Day.