Healthy systems for universal health coverage - a joint vision for healthy lives

UHC2030 is delighted to present a joint vision for health systems strengthening to achieve universal health coverage. In the spirit of collaboration across agencies that UHC2030 aims to foster, the vision was developed by a group of experts working under the umbrella of UHC2030. 

Healthy systems for universal health coverage - a joint vision for healthy lives

It is intended to be a key reference document for UHC2030, as well as a broader resource for the global community to inform collaboration on the health systems strengthening (HSS) and universal health coverage (UHC) agenda. The vision outlines performance and policy entry points to promote UHC through HSS, including critical action for the way forward and principles to guide action.  

This shared vision argues that HSS should focus on five dimensions of health system performance: equity, quality, responsiveness, efficiency and resilience. Improved health systems performance requires national, regional and global action in the three inter-related health systems policy areas of service delivery, health financing and governance. 

The report also acknowledges that there is no one-size-fit all approach to HSS. The following principles have been identified to guide action in prioritising and implementing HSS:

• Leaving no one behind: a commitment to equity, non-discrimination and human-rights based approaches
• Transparency and accountability for results
• Evidence-based national strategies and leadership
• Making health systems everybody’s business, with engagement of citizens, communities, civil society and private sector
• International cooperation based on mutual learning across countries and development effectiveness principles.

“We are very pleased about the strong ownership for the paper by UHC2030. We trust that UHC2030 is in the best possible position to implement the Joint Vision. The transformation of IHP+ into UHC2030 offered an excellent opportunity to embed our efforts for greater coordination. The Joint Vision Paper promotes dialogue and facilitates coordination of Health System Strengthening efforts,” said Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Director-General for Global Issues, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) when she presented the overview of the joint vision paper in Washington DC, in April.