the focus on public policy and health equity is discussed in reference to the current global health policy discussion on universal health coverage (uhc). this initiative has strong commitment from the leadership of the international organizations involved, but a lack of policy clarity outside of the health financing component may limit the initiative’s impact on health inequity. in order to add...

This article provides a commentary to Ole Norheim’ s editorial entitled “Ethical perspective: Five unacceptable trade-offs on the path to universal health coverage.” It reinforces its message that an inclusive, participatory process is essential for ethical decision-making and underlines the crucial importance of good governance in setting fair priorities in healthcare. Solidarity on both natio...

UHC is a priority topic in global health. It is one of the targets in the sustainable development goals, and considered the main approach that cuts across all program areas and SDG health targets. Two previous meetings have been held at the Bellagio Center (Measurement of trends and equity in coverage of health interventions in the context of universal health coverage, September 17-21 2012, and...

Monitoring inequalities in health is fundamental to the equitable and progressive realization of universal health coverage (UHC). A successful approach to global inequality monitoring must be intuitive enough for widespread adoption, yet maintain technical credibility. This article discusses methodological considerations for equity-oriented monitoring of UHC, and proposes recommendations for mo...

this article discusses what ethicists have called “unacceptable trade-offs” in health policy choices related to universal health coverage (uhc). since the fiscal space is constrained, trade-offs need to be made. but some trade-offs are unacceptable on the path to universal coverage. unacceptable choices include, among other examples from low-income countries, to expand coverage for services wit...

This country case study is part of the Universal Health Coverage Collection. The World Health Organization defines universal health coverage (UHC) as a situation in which all people who need health services receive them, without incurring financial hardship [1]. UHC is currently perceived as a crucial component of sustainable development and listed as one of the possible goals of the post-2015 ...

To achieve universal health coverage, health systems will have to reach into every community, including the poorest and hardest to access. Since Alma-Ata, inconsistent support of community health workers (CHWs) and failure to integrate them into the health system have impeded full realization of their potential contribution in the context of primary health care. Scaling up and maintaining CHW p...

binagwaho and colleagues’ perspective piece provided a timely reflection on the experience of rwanda in achieving the millennium development goals (mdgs) and a proposal of 5 principles to carry forward in post-2015 health development. this commentary echoes their viewpoints and offers three lessons for health policy reforms consistent with these principles beyond 2015. specifically, we argue th...

Editorials 84 An adequate, performing health workforce is vital for improving health service coverage and health outcomes. 1 Yet the availability, distribution, capacity and performance of human resources for health (HRH) varies widely and many countries have fewer health workers than needed for high coverage of essential health services, according to the World health report 2006. 2 Signs of pr...

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) World Health Report 2010, "Health systems financing, the path to universal coverage," promoted universal health coverage (UHC) as an aspirational objective for country health systems. Yet, in addition to the dimensions of services and coverage, distribution of coverage in the population, and financial risk protection highlighted by the report, the conside...