Build back stronger universal health coverage systems after the COVID-19 pandemic: the need for better governance and linkage with universal social protection

Type Journal Article Author Fabrizio Tediosi Author Knut Lönnroth Author Ariel Pablos-Méndez Author Mario Raviglione URL https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e004020 Rights © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Volume 5 Issue 10 Pages e004020 Publication BMJ Global Health ISSN 2059-7908 Date 29/10/2020 Extra Publisher: BMJ Specialist Journals Section: Commentary PMID: 33122298 DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004020 Accessed 2020-11-09 16:48:24 Library Catalog gh.bmj.com Language en Abstract ### Summary box The need for a systemic approach to complex challenges and for better understanding the relationship between population health and its economic consequences have been recognised for years as the basis towards sustainable solutions in global health. The emergence of a movement promoting Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as the ultimate means to ensuring equitable access to health for all people, raised the attention to the importance of re-imagining health systems. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of UHC that should be promoted with better governance and linkages to social protection systems. UHC is the aspiration that all people will obtain access to quality health services they need while not suffering financially as a result of paying out of pocket for health care.1 UHC requires that countries expand the availability of, and effective access to, essential health services and include more people in risk pooling mechanisms, such as social or private medical insurances or tax-based prepaid systems, to reduce out of pocket payments at point of service. The inclusion of UHC in Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) has generated attention to coverage of essential health services, to financial protection—catastrophic or impoverishing out-of-pocket health spending—and to health system strengthening. Implicitly, it has also supported the inclusion of equity considerations into the global health agenda. Like AIDS a generation ago, UHC … Short Title Build back stronger universal health coverage systems after the COVID-19 pandemic