Ban Ki-moon urges leaders to invest in “Health for All” with the launch of the UHC Day

December 13, 2018

December 12th is endorsed by the United Nations as the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day to call for collective action to ensure that everyone across the world gets access to quality health services without having to suffer from any financial difficulties.

UHC is a fundamentally political goal rooted in the human right to health and is also considered an important investment that countries should make. The UHC Day on 12 December aims to mobilize diverse stakeholders to call for stronger, more equitable health systems to achieve universal health coverage, leaving no one behind. It has become the annual rallying point for the growing global movement for ‘Health for All.‘

On an ed-op on “Why public finance is Key to Delivering the human right to health,” BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon calls on political leaders to demonstrate their will to finance the public health systems.

“Our advice to US states, to India, Indonesia, South Africa, Kenya and other countries approaching the cross roads like Nigeria and Pakistan is to take this path, as this is the only navigable route to health for all and just, stable and prosperous societies,” said Ban.

“Health is a human right,” Ban says “When people are not able to access the healthcare they need, especially if this is for reasons of cost, their human rights are denied. It is vital for the wider fight for rights, justice and sustainable development that policymakers’ actions are informed by this linkage.”

 

Read the ed-op: https://theelders.org/…/why-public-finance-key-delivering-h…
Learn more about the UHC Day: http://universalhealthcoverageday.org/
Photo: The Elders

Ban Ki-moon underlines healthcare is a “human right” and should be “for the people”

September 26, 2018

On September 25th in New York, the US, BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon made comments on the US healthcare system at an interview with the Guardian. As Ban has worked on promoting the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a member of the Elders, he urged the leaders in the US to enact publicly-financed healthcare.

Having the most expensive healthcare system in the world, the US citizens have to bear more than 10,348 USD for their health insurance that accounts for nearly one-fifth of their GDP.

“Why such a country like the United States, the most resourceful and richest country in the world, does not introduce universal health coverage,” said Ban.

He expressed his concerns that “almost 30 million people are not covered by insurance” in the US and emphasized that a healthcare system is a “human right” and thus it should be “for the people.” Ban suggested that the UHC could be introduced either in California or in New York, which then may encourage other states to follow.

He said, “leaders are elected because they vowed that they would work for the people” and “they are abandoning people because they are poor, then these poor people cannot find a proper medical support.”

Read the original article here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/25/ex-un-chief-ban-kioon-says-us-healthcare-system-is-morally-wrong

Photo: Ali Smith for the Guardian

Ban Ki-moon stresses the importance of the Universal Health Coverage

September 21, 2018
A day before the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in San Francisco, the US, BKMC Co-chair Ban Ki-moon—who is also a member of the The Elders—delivered a keynote speech on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and addressed climate change issues at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG).
“Universal health coverage is built on principles of equity and fairness, with health services allocated according to people’s needs and the health system financed according to people’s ability to pay. It means that healthy wealthy people subsidise health services for the sick and the poor, recognising both their own interest and the common benefits in a healthy society,” Ban said.
He continued, “global evidence shows that the only way to reach truly universal health coverage is through switching to a health financing system that is dominated by public financing – either through general taxation or progressive social health insurance.”
 
Watch the full speech: https://bit.ly/2QOk1cs

Read more about the event in the original articles:
Photo: The Elders

The Elders met in India to urge the country leaders to achieve UHC

September 11, 2018
The Elders, which Co-chair Ban Ki-moon is a member of, met in India and urged the leaders of countries and states to make a series of ambitious health reforms which have the potential to improve the health and well-being of all.
 
The Elders’ report contains four key recommendations to achieve UHC (Universal Health Coverage), which helps people everybody receive the necessary health services without having financial difficulties:
 
1. Increase public financing for health to 2.5% of GDP by 2021
2. Focus on reaching full population coverage and prioritizing the needs of the poor and vulnerable
3. Focus additional resources on primary healthcare services including vital public health services
4. Guarantee universal access to free essential medicines and diagnostic services
 
Ban added,
“Universal Health Coverage should not be seen as a vague aspiration, but a commitment India’s government made when it signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. I urge people in India to see UHC as your right to affordable healthcare and that you hold your leaders to account for its delivery.”
Source: https://www.looktothestars.org/news/18282-the-elders-commend-indian-leaders-for-ambitious-healthcare-reforms

Let’s unite in moving ahead with this Paris climate change agreement

October 23, 2017

London – US President Donald Trump is “standing on the wrong side of history” in withdrawing from the Paris Climate Treaty

“I am deeply concerned about what President Trump of the United States has declared that the US is withdrawing from this Paris Agreement. I have been speaking out that his vision is politically short-sighted, and economically irresponsible and scientifically wrong. So he is standing on the wrong side of history,” Ban said on the sidelines of a London peace walk.

Continue reading “Let’s unite in moving ahead with this Paris climate change agreement” →