Expanding Access to Essential Quality Services for Cancer Patients as Part of Universal Health Coverage: Reflections From the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit

AbstractWe outline key conclusions of the World Health Organisation's report 'Making Fair Choices on the Path to Universal Health Coverage (UHC)'. The Report argues that three principles should inform choices on the path to UHC: I. Coverage should be based on need, with extra weight given to the needs of the worse off; II. One aim should be to generate the greatest total improvement in health; III. Contributions should be based on ability to pay and not need. We describe how these principles determine which trade-offs are (un)acceptable. We also discuss which institutions contribute to fair and accountable choices.

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Assistive technology as a pillar of universal health coverage: qualitative analysis of stakeholder responses to the world health assembly resolution on assistive technology

Disability and Rehabilitation Assistive Technology ◽

10.1080/17483107.2020.1774929 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (7) ◽

pp. 825-831 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Natasha Layton ◽

Diane Bell ◽

Johan Borg ◽

Emily Steel ◽

Malcolm Maclachlan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Assistive Technology ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

World Health Assembly ◽

World Health Assembly Resolution ◽

The World ◽

Universal Health

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Risk for COVID-19 among Migrants from different areas of the World in Spain: A population-based cohort study in a country with universal health coverage

10.1101/2020.05.25.20112185 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Carlos Guijarro ◽

Elia Pérez-Fernández ◽

Beatriz González-Piñeiro ◽

Victoria Meléndez ◽

Maria José Goyanes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Population Based ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Relative Risks ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The World ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Universal Health

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the COVID-19 incidence among migrants from different areas of the world as compared to Spaniards living in AlcorcónDesignPopulation-based cohort analysis of the cumulative incidence of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases until April 25 (2020) among adult residents at Alcorcón (Spain) attended at the only public hospital serving this city. Crude incident rates for Spaniards and migrants from different areas of the world were estimated. Age and sex-adjusted relative risks for COVID19 were estimated by negative bomial regression.SettingUniversity public Hospital at Alcorcón, Madrid, SpainParticipantsAll adult residents living in Alcorcon classified by their country and region of the world of origin.Main outcomePCR confirmed COVID-19.ResultsPCR confirmed COVID-19 cumulative incidence was 6.81 cases per 1000 inhabitants among residents of Alcorcón. The crude incidence among migrants (n=20419) was higher than among Spaniards (n=131599): 8.81 and 6.51 and per 1000 inhabitants respectively (p<0.001).By regions of the world, crude cumulative COVID-19 incidence rates were: European Union 2.38, Asia 2.01,, Northern Africa 3.59, East ern Europe 4.37, Sub-Saharan Africa 11.24, Caribbean 18.26 and Latin-America 20.77 8 per 1000 inhabitants. Migrant residents were markedly younger than Spaniards (median age 52 vs 73 years, p<0.001). By negative binomial regression, adjusted for age and sex, relative risks (RR) for COVID-19 were not significantly different from Spaniards for individuals from Europe, Asia or Northern Africa. In contrast, there was an increased risk for Sub-Saharan Africa (RR 3.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.42-9.41, p=0.007), Caribbean (RR 6.35, 95% CI 3.83-10.55, p<0.001) and Latin-America (RR 6.92, 95% CI 4.49-10.67, p <0.001).ConclusionsThere was a marked increased risk for COVID-19 among migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, Caribbean and Latin-America residing in Spain. The reasons underlying this increased risk and health and social implications deserve further attention.What is known about the topicRecent reports suggest an increased burden of COVID-19 among migrants or ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom and the USA, particularly regarding mortality. Reports have failed to dissociate clinical outcomes from differences in access to medical care or pre-existing medical conditions. There is no information regarding COVID risk for latinos in countries with universal health coverageWhat this study addMigrants from subsaharian Africa resident in Spain exhibit an increased risk for COVID-19. This risk is further increased for migrants from the Caribbean and Latin-America and cannot be attributed to unequal access to medical care. Studies in countries with universal health coverage may help to dissociate COVID burden in migrants and ethnic populations from access to health care.

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Why Canada Is in Court to Protect Healthcare for All: Global Implications for Universal Health Coverage

Frontiers in Health Services ◽

10.3389/frhs.2021.744105 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Author(s):

John Frank ◽

Claudia Pagliari ◽

Cam Donaldson ◽

Kate E. Pickett ◽

Karen S. Palmer

Keyword(s):

International Development ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Social Epidemiology ◽

Modern Society ◽

Structural Features ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Physician Services ◽

The World ◽

Development Goals ◽

Universal Health

Countries worldwide are currently endeavoring to safeguard the long-term health of their populations through implementing Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in line with the United Nation's 2015-30 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Canada has some of the world's strongest legislation supporting equitable access to care for medically necessary hospital and physician services based on need, not ability to pay. A constitutional challenge to this legislation is underway in British Columbia (BC), led by a corporate plaintiff, Cambie Surgeries Corporation (CSC). This constitutional challenge threatens to undermine the high bar for UHC protection that Canada has set for the world, with potential adverse implications for equitable international development. CSC claims that BC's healthcare law—the Medicare Protection Act (MPA)—infringes patients' rights under Canada's constitution, by essentially preventing physicians who are enrolled in BC's publicly-funded Medicare plan from providing expedited care to patients for a private fee. In September 2020, after a trial that ran for 3.5 years and included testimony by more than 100 witnesses from around the world, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' claim. Having lost their case in the Supreme Court of BC, the plaintiffs' appealed in June 2021. The appellate court's ruling and reasons for judgment are expected sometime in 2021. We consider the evidence before the court from the perspective of social epidemiology and health inequalities, demonstrating that structural features of a modern society that exacerbate inequalities, including inequitable access to healthcare, can be expected to lead to worse overall societal outcomes.

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“Health Technology Assessment in High, Middle and Low-income Countries: New Systematic and Interdisciplinary Approach for Sound Informed-policymaking”

10.21203/rs.3.rs-123807/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammed AlKhaldi ◽

Sara Ahmed ◽

Aisha Al Basuoni ◽

Marcel Tanner

Keyword(s):

Health Technology Assessment ◽

Health Systems ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Technology Assessment ◽

Social Systems ◽

Health Technology ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

The World ◽

Universal Health

Abstract Technological innovation has a significant role in improving health systems (HSs) and achieving universal health coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared resolutions on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and other global organizations emphasized on HTA systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HTA is a modern multidisciplinary decision-making framework linking knowledge and policymaking in order to provide evidence to leaders and ensuring the value of resources by evaluating properties, effects, and/or impacts. The scope of HTA focuses on conducting assessments and analyses to investigate the medical, social, economic, organizational and ethical issues within health and social systems for generating management and technical solutions. HTA is important as it is rapidly growing and is seen as an essential development approach to tackle existing challenges, particularly in developing countries as they share most of the health burdens worldwide. The research aims to comprehensively evaluate HTA within the health and social systems and understand HTA within the national health system with regards to the level of knowledge about HTA, current HTA practices, application, capacity, gaps, and solutions by investigating the perceptions of health systems’ stakeholders in five countries, Canada, Switzerland, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tanzania selected according to the World Bank income classification. The project will last 12 months starts in January 2021 and ends in January 2022. A mixed-methods, quantitative and qualitative, along with a scoping review will be applied. In each country, fifty semi-structured questionnaires, twenty in-depth interviews, and one national focus group discussion will be conducted with health experts, managers, and policymakers selected purposively from the 1st and 2nd levels of the HS structure. Excel, IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and MAXQDA 12 (VERBI GmbH, Berlin) software programs will be used for data management and analysis. The research will form cutting-edge evidence and reference not only for the six countries, but also for the global, regional, and national endeavors with regards to opening a room for HTA best application and optimization based on the produced knowledge from this research. It will reveal lessons learned, determine gaps, and set an applicable strengthening framework for HTA. This framework will eventually aid the decision and policymakers in these countries, and other similar countries and international organizations to build a well-enabled and institutionalized HTA for better universal health coverage, health systems, and multi-sectoral development.

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Achieving universal health coverage by 2030: The role of parliaments in ensuring right to health

Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin ◽

10.3329/bmrcb.v45i3.44655 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 208-213

Author(s):

Md. Habibe Millat ◽

Mr. Christian Lohr ◽

Ms. Mariana Carvalho

Keyword(s):

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Right To Health ◽

World Health ◽

Director General ◽

National Council ◽

Health Coverage ◽

The World ◽

The Right ◽

Universal Health

In October 2018, on behalf of the Bangladesh Parliament, I proposed to the 139th Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) to adopt a resolution on “Achieving universal health coverage by 2030: The role of parliaments in ensuring the right to health” (Annex-1). After the acceptance of my proposal, I worked as a co-rapporteur along with Mr. Christian Lohr, Member of the National Council, Switzerland and Ms. Mariana Carvalho, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil for a year to consult with and gather inputs from the parliaments and parliamentarians across the world. After several intensive discussions, debates and consultations in different parts of the world, we presented a draft proposal to the IPU member parliaments before presented it to the IPU assembly. Later, following the final debate and discussion, 141st IPU assembly 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia approved this resolution. I believe this global tool will enable parliaments and parliamentarians to contribute in ensuring the highest attainable standard of health and global health targets by 2030. I am grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh Jononetry Sheikh Hasina MP and the Hon’ble Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury MP for their encouragement. I am also thankful to IPU President Ms Gabriela Cuevas Barron, IPU Secretary General Mr Martin Chungong and World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for their regular guidance towards this initiative. My sincere appreciation goes to the colleagues from the Bangladesh Parliament, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, IPU Secretariat and WHO Secretariat for their contribution in the process. I hope our parliaments and parliamentarians will take full advantage of this resolution in their work to make the right decisions when it’s come to those health issues. I am now looking forward to working together with my fellow parliamentarians from home and abroad to deliver the commitment we have made through the IPU resolution on universal health coverage. I would appreciate your comment, suggestion and advice in this regard.

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Universal Health Coverage- A Case Study of Indian Healthcare System during COVID-19 Pandemic

Asian Journal of Medicine and Health ◽

10.9734/ajmah/2021/v19i130291 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Rashika Nandwani

Keyword(s):

Healthcare System ◽

Health Systems ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Health Systems Strengthening ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

The World ◽

The Government ◽

Universal Health

Aim: The main purpose of this paper is to look at the Indian healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic and how COVID-19 acts as barrier and also presents some opportunities towards the road of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Background: COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of health systems across the world and India is no exception. The World Health Organization (WHO) has kept the definition of UHC very flexible and has left on the country which is implementing it as to how much of the population and which services should be included in the scheme. Discussion: India already has a unique flagship program Ayushman Bharat where it is trying to cover her most vulnerable population against catastrophic expenditure of health. This paper further investigates the progress of India towards UHC and how COVID-19 is acting as an impediment for India to progress towards it. On the other hand, it also poses some opportunities which had not been explored in the past. Health Systems Strengthening is the path towards the achievement of UHC and due to COVID-19, India has touched upon all the six building blocks which are needed to strengthen our system towards the achievement of UHC. Recommendations and Conclusion: It recommends that Indian system should be more proactive than reactive; it also suggests following a systems-based approach and to not target the problem in silos. It also suggests increasing the government funding as well as establishment of proper public health cadre. To conclude, this paper also suggests that the government should include outpatient expenses into their scheme, and they should also concentrate towards building adequate infrastructure in order to face future pandemics like COVID-19.

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Education, leadership and partnerships: nursing potential for Universal Health Coverage

Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem ◽

10.1590/1518-8345.1092.2673 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 24 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Isabel Amélia Costa Mendes ◽

Carla Aparecida Arena Ventura ◽

Maria Auxiliadora Trevizan ◽

Leila Maria Marchi-Alves ◽

Valtuir Duarte de Souza-Junior

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Education Leadership ◽

Document Analysis ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Partnership Development ◽

The World ◽

Health Organization ◽

Universal Health

Objective: to discuss possibilities of nursing contribution for universal health coverage. Method: a qualitative study, performed by means of document analysis of the World Health Organization publications highlighting Nursing and Midwifery within universal health coverage. Results: documents published by nursing and midwifery leaders point to the need for coordinated and integrated actions in education, leadership and partnership development. Final Considerations: this article represents a call for nurses, in order to foster reflection and understanding of the relevance of their work on the consolidation of the principles of universal health coverage.

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The World Health Assembly Resolutions on eHealth: eHealth in Support of Universal Health Coverage

Methods of Information in Medicine ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1627062 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 52 (06) ◽

pp. 463-466 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

N. Al-Shorbaji

Keyword(s):

Universal Health Coverage ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

World Health Assembly ◽

The World ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Development Goals ◽

Health Organization ◽

Universal Health

SummaryThe World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and three of the six WHO Regional Committees adopted a number of resolutions on eHealth: the use of information and communication technology for health. These resolutions have given legitimacy to eHealth as an area of work for WHO and its member states. The implementation of these resolutions will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Universal Health Coverage. eHealth has been per -ceived as reducing the cost of healthcare, improving quality and equitable access to health services.

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