The Lancet Global Health: Investing in leadership for universal health coverage
Editorial Board

“…The U.N. High-Level Meeting, ahead of the 74th U.N. General Assembly in New York, will see governments debate and commit to a high-level political declaration, and as WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said on many an occasion, [universal health coverage (UHC)] is a political choice. … Many pieces of research make an extremely good case for investing in UHC. Most notably, perhaps, the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health demonstrated that pathways that targeted the poorest first, such as publicly financed insurance, could provide financial protection and essential health-care interventions to everyone and that returns on these investments would far exceed the costs. In this month’s issue, several papers focus on innovative ways to make coverage of treatments for non-communicable diseases in resource-limited settings more affordable…” (10/1).

Global Health NOW: Cutting Through the Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage
Dominique Vervoort, a Belgian physician and MPH/MBA student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School

“When the U.N. convenes its High-Level Meeting next week on universal health coverage, increased access to surgery not only needs to be a top priority for political rhetoric but for genuine commitment. … At next week’s U.N. General Assembly, the million-dollar question remains: Will the world be able to achieve UHC by 2030 — just over 10 years away? Cross-cutting and comprehensive health systems strengthened with emergency and essential surgical services — aligned with primary health care interventions and backed up by budgets — will prove key in truly bringing health for all to all…” (9/16).