The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank have jointly released the 2023 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Global Monitoring Report. The report highlights the state of healthcare accessibility and affordability worldwide. In Uganda, while some improvements have been made, over 50% of the population still lacks access to Universal Health Coverage services.
Uganda has made notable advancements in areas such as diabetes management, tobacco non-use, HIV anti-retroviral therapy, TB treatment, and child immunization (DTP3). However, challenges persist in healthcare workforce availability, healthcare facility bed density, hypertension treatment, and access to basic sanitation.
According to the report, Uganda’s score on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) service coverage index (SCI) has seen moderate improvement, increasing from 22 in 2000 to 49 in 2021.
This report is released just ahead of the High-Level Meeting on UHC at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, shedding light on the fact that more than half of the global population lacks access to essential health services. Additionally, 2 billion people worldwide face significant financial difficulties when seeking necessary healthcare services and products.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, emphasized the importance of affordable and quality healthcare, stating, “The COVID-19 pandemic was a reminder that healthy societies and economies depend on healthy people. We urgently need stronger political will, more aggressive investments in health, and a decisive shift to transform health systems based on primary health care.”
The 2023 report reveals that in the past two decades, fewer than one-third of countries have improved health service coverage and reduced catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending. Furthermore, most countries with available data on UHC dimensions are off-track in either service coverage, financial protection, or both.
Mamta Murthi, Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank, emphasized the importance of addressing financial hardship related to healthcare, particularly among the poorest and most vulnerable individuals.
The report highlights that progress in expanding essential health services has slowed since 2015, and no improvement was seen from 2019 to 2021. While infectious disease services have seen significant improvements since 2000, there has been little progress in noncommunicable diseases and reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services. In 2021, approximately 4.5 billion people, representing over half of the global population, lacked full access to essential health services.
Catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending, defined as exceeding 10% of a household budget, continues to rise globally, affecting over one billion people. Even small health expenses can push low-income families into poverty. Approximately 1.3 billion individuals were either pushed into poverty or further into extreme poverty due to such expenditures.
To achieve universal health coverage by 2030, substantial public sector investments and coordinated actions by governments and development partners are essential. Key actions include reorienting health systems towards primary healthcare, promoting equitable access, investing in robust health information systems, and addressing challenges posed by factors like COVID-19, climate change, demographic shifts, and political trends.
The 2023 UHC Global Monitoring Report serves as a call to action for the global community, emphasizing the need to prioritize and invest in universal health coverage to ensure quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all without financial hardship.