Publication: Accelerating Health Equity: The Key Role of Universal Health Coverage in the Sustainable Development Goals
Loading...
Files in English
447 downloads
Date
2015-04-29
ISSN
Published
2015-04-29
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be committed to by Heads of State at the upcoming 2015 United Nations General Assembly, have set much higher and more ambitious health-related goals and targets than did the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The main challenge among MDG off-track countries is the failure to provide and sustain financial access to quality services by communities, especially the poor. Universal health coverage (UHC), one of the SDG health targets indispensable to achieving an improved level and distribution of health, requires a significant increase in government investment in strengthening primary healthcare - the close-to-client service which can result in equitable access. Given the trend of increased fiscal capacity in most developing countries, aiming at long-term progress toward UHC is feasible, if there is political commitment and if focused, effective policies are in place. Trends in high income countries, including an aging population which increases demand for health workers, continue to trigger international migration of health personnel from low and middle income countries. The inspirational SDGs must be matched with redoubled government efforts to strengthen health delivery systems, produce and retain more and relevant health workers, and progressively realize UHC.
Link to Data Set
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Citations
- Cited 169 times in Scopus (view citations)
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Setting Priorities, Building Prosperity through Universal Health Coverage(Taylor and Francis, 2016-01-21)Since 2000, a growing number of governments around the world have made the political commitment to undertake reforms toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC). According to our analysis, UHC efforts in 24 frontrunner countries have been massive and transformational. And with the recent adoption of UHC as a target in the Global Goals for 2030, policy makers are more than ever making it a priority to ensure that all their citizens have access to quality, essential health services and that no one falls into or remains in poverty because of paying for the care they need.Publication Results and Performance of the World Bank Group 2012 : Volume III. Management Action Record(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-03-20)Management welcomes the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) report results and performance 2012 of the World Bank group (RAP) and its overall positive assessment of the World Bank group development effectiveness. Management appreciates that the report provides a balanced picture of the World Bank group activities and recognizes that all three institutions have taken important steps to strengthen results, monitoring, and reporting. The report is especially useful to management to prioritize the challenges in the context of the ongoing efforts to strengthen focus on results. Management is concerned that the share of investment lending projects rated moderately satisfactory or better appears to be declining, after a long period of improvements observed since the mid-1990s.This reports includes five chapters: (i) the global development context ;(ii) world bank group operations: findings from evaluation work; (iii) enhancing the bank group's effectiveness;(iv) strengthening institutional results orientation;(v) conclusion: areas for attentionPublication Synopsis of Health Systems Research across the World Bank Group from 2000 to 2010(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-11)Policymakers and researchers around the world are working to identify the 'how to' aspect of health systems strengthening. However, there is neither consistency nor clarity on what makes a 'good' health systems study with regard to research design, methodology, etc. This synopsis of health systems research carried out by the World Bank highlights the scale and scope of the Bank's knowledge contributions to this important field over the last 10 years. The authors hope this review will stimulate the Bank and other development partners to strengthen efforts to create knowledge to improve health systems. The purpose of this report is to describe the research on health systems that have taken place across the World Bank Group over the last 10 years. The World Bank is a big contributor to research on health systems. The search identified 664 reports, policy research working papers, discussion papers, books, book chapters, how-to manuals, guides, briefs, policy notes and journal articles on health systems published over the last 10 years. Health systems research is widely distributed across the Bank, and much of it is carried out by region-based staff and their colleagues and clients in countries. The Bank's health systems research covers a wide scope. The authors have considered work which is both problem-specific focused on specific diseases, health problems, or outcomes but with substantial health systems content as well as cross-cutting in terms of specific health system 'control knobs.' The authors lack a very precise definition of health systems. This review highlights the important contributions of the World Bank's partners. The Bank engages researchers in its client countries, partners from academic institutions, development agencies, and knowledge organizations.Publication The Health Extension Program in Ethiopia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-01)Ethiopia has made substantial progress in improving health outcomes during the last decade and is on track to achieve some of the health Millennium Development Goals. Innovative strategies to improve household behaviors and coverage of basic health care services contributed to Ethiopia's achievements, and the Health Extension Program (HEP) remains the core of such innovations and provides a model for countries struggling to improve health outcomes in a resource-constrained setting. The program rests on an accelerated expansion of basic health infrastructure and local human resources with required skills to scale-up delivery of high-impact interventions focusing on improving the supply of and enhancing demand for a well-defined package of essential promotive, preventive, and curative health services. The objectives of the case study are to provide a detailed description of (a) the context for the introduction of the program; (b) the scope of the service package delivered under the program; and (c) the institutional arrangements and the links with the rest of the health system. The case study also summarizes and discusses the evidence of the program's achievements and the challenges to achieving universal primary health care coverage. The study also discusses the importance of political will and commitment in introducing such large-scale innovations in improving service delivery and mobilizing the community in a resource-constrained setting.Publication Emerging Challenges in Implementing Universal Health Coverage in Asia(Elsevier, 2015-07-26)As countries in Asia converge on the goal of universal health coverage (UHC), some common challenges are emerging. One is how to ensure coverage of the informal sector so as to make UHC truly universal; a second is how to design a benefit package that is responsive and appropriate to current health challenges, yet fiscally sustainable; and a third is how to ensure “supply-side readiness”, i.e. the availability and quality of services, which is a necessary condition for translating coverage into improvements in health outcomes. Using examples from the Asia region, this paper discusses these three challenges and how they are being addressed.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-21)This report provides an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national, and subnational initiatives. It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments and some of the drivers seen over the past year. Specifically, this report covers carbon taxes, emissions trading systems (ETSs), and crediting mechanisms. Key topics covered in the 2024 report include uptake of ETSs and carbon taxes in low- and middle- income economies, sectoral coverage of ETSs and carbon taxes, and the use of crediting mechanisms as part of the policy mix.Publication World Development Report 2019(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019)Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.Publication Supporting Youth at Risk(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008)The World Bank has produced this policy Toolkit in response to a growing demand from our government clients and partners for advice on how to create and implement effective policies for at-risk youth. The author has highlighted 22 policies (six core policies, nine promising policies, and seven general policies) that have been effective in addressing the following five key risk areas for young people around the world: (i) youth unemployment, underemployment, and lack of formal sector employment; (ii) early school leaving; (iii) risky sexual behavior leading to early childbearing and HIV/AIDS; (iv) crime and violence; and (v) substance abuse. The objective of this Toolkit is to serve as a practical guide for policy makers in middle-income countries as well as professionals working within the area of youth development on how to develop and implement an effective policy portfolio to foster healthy and positive youth development.Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Fall 2024: Better Education for Stronger Growth(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-17)Economic growth in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is likely to moderate from 3.5 percent in 2023 to 3.3 percent this year. This is significantly weaker than the 4.1 percent average growth in 2000-19. Growth this year is driven by expansionary fiscal policies and strong private consumption. External demand is less favorable because of weak economic expansion in major trading partners, like the European Union. Growth is likely to slow further in 2025, mostly because of the easing of expansion in the Russian Federation and Turkiye. This Europe and Central Asia Economic Update calls for a major overhaul of education systems across the region, particularly higher education, to unleash the talent needed to reinvigorate growth and boost convergence with high-income countries. Universities in the region suffer from poor management, outdated curricula, and inadequate funding and infrastructure. A mismatch between graduates' skills and the skills employers are seeking leads to wasted potential and contributes to the region's brain drain. Reversing the decline in the quality of education will require prioritizing improvements in teacher training, updated curricula, and investment in educational infrastructure. In higher education, reforms are needed to consolidate university systems, integrate them with research centers, and provide reskilling opportunities for adult workers.Publication World Development Report 1984(New York: Oxford University Press, 1984)Long-term needs and sustained effort are underlying themes in this year's report. As with most of its predecessors, it is divided into two parts. The first looks at economic performance, past and prospective. The second part is this year devoted to population - the causes and consequences of rapid population growth, its link to development, why it has slowed down in some developing countries. The two parts mirror each other: economic policy and performance in the next decade will matter for population growth in the developing countries for several decades beyond. Population policy and change in the rest of this century will set the terms for the whole of development strategy in the next. In both cases, policy changes will not yield immediate benefits, but delay will reduce the room for maneuver that policy makers will have in years to come.