[State of commitment to universal health coverage and associated challenges]

Area of Science:

• Global Health Policy
• Health Systems Strengthening
• International Development

Context:

• The 2019 UHC Political Declaration established commitments for UN member states.
• UHC2030 initiated a project to track progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
• This study focuses on the State of UHC Commitment project, analyzing Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).

Purpose:

• To provide public health experts in Japan with an overview of the State of UHC Commitment project.
• To highlight key findings from a pilot study on VNRs regarding UHC.
• To assess government accountability for UHC commitments using VNR data.

Summary:

• A review of 187 VNR reports (2016-2020) and 40 recent reports (as of Feb 2021) assessed government actions toward UHC.
• Findings indicate an improvement in evidence-based accountability in VNRs over time.
• Despite improvements, UN statistical data on UHC and health systems is not fully leveraged for accountability.

Impact:

• The current pace of UHC progress challenges the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
• Strengthened evidence-based accountability is crucial for meeting UHC targets.
• Effective utilization of UN statistics can drive UHC progress and fulfill the Political Declaration.