The report, titled Global health spending: emerging from the pandemicshows a reduction in per capita public health spending in 2022 across all income groups, after a sharp increase during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This worrying trend undermines progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), a goal enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the agency said.
This year, Universal Health Coverage Day highlights the urgent need for governments to prioritize financial protection, ensuring everyone has access to essential health services without risking financial hardship.
A global health emergency
The statistics are glaring: 4.5 billion people worldwide lack access to basic health services and 2 billion experience financial hardship due to health care costs.
For many, the high cost of medical care presents impossible choices between life-saving treatments and necessities such as food and housing.
These challenges disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including women, children, and adolescents, who face the greatest barriers to accessing health care.
“As access to health services improves globally, their use is pushing more and more people into financial hardship or poverty,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General .
“Universal Health Coverage Day reminds us that health for all means that everyone can access the health services they need, without financial difficulties“, he added.
The cost of inaction
Reducing public investment in health can have far-reaching consequences.
Without sufficient funding, health systems falter, leaving populations vulnerable to routine health needs and crises.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the link between UHC and health security, underscoring the need for resilient health systems that protect everyone, everywhere.
Investing in health is it is not only a moral imperative, but also an economic imperative.
Access to affordable healthcare improves labor market participation, boosts productivity and promotes social cohesion.
On the contrary, when health care costs push people into poverty, the economic impacts can be devastating.
UHC Day 2024: a call to action
Since the approval of UHC by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, world leaders have reaffirmed their commitments in multiple declarations. Yet financial protection has deteriorated over the past two decades.
On Universal Health Coverage Day, advocates are urging governments to deliver on their commitments by prioritizing health financing in national budgets.
The theme of UHC Day 2024, “Health: It’s Up to Government,” highlights the role of governments in ensuring equitable and affordable healthcare for all.
Advocates are calling on leaders to protect the poorest and most vulnerable from impoverishing health care costs and ensure that no one has to choose between health care and basic needs.
