Universal Health Coverage Day, commemorated each 12 December, is the anniversary of the first unanimous United Nations resolution calling for countries to provide affordable, quality health care to every person, everywhere. UHC Day has become the annual rallying point for the growing global movement for health for all. Each year on 12.12, voices are raised to share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for health, to call on leaders to make bigger and smarter investments in health, and to remind the world that health for all is imperative for the world we want. Universal health coverage Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means everyone can access the quality health services they need without financial hardship. WHO: All people, including the poorest and most vulnerable. WHAT: Full range of essential health services, including prevention, treatment, hospital care and pain control. HOW: Costs shared among entire population through pre- payment and risk-pooling, rather than shouldered by the sick. Access should be based on need and unrelated to ability to pay. UHC is a means to promote the human right to health. Universal health coverage has been included in the new Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that all UN Member States have agreed to try to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030. This includes financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. Theme for 2025 The theme for 2025 is "Unaffordable health costs? We’re sick of it!". Building on momentum from 2024, this year's campaign highlights the devastating human impact of unaffordable health costs and calls on decision-makers to prioritize universal health coverage. More than half the world’s population still lacks access to essential health services. And a quarter of them face financial hardship when paying for health care out of their own pockets, often at the expense of food, education or housing. The theme focuses on the lived experience behind these statistics, reminding government decision-makers that unaffordable health costs are making our communities poorer and sicker and holding us back on all of the Sustainable Development Goals. Healthcare should never push people into poverty! The high cost of health services is the primary reason people miss out on essential health care. These costs often force families to choose between paying for medicines or a visit to the doctor and other necessities, such as food, housing and education. Health costs and illness should never push people into poverty! Investing in universal health coverage and financial protection not only enhances health and well-being but also fosters greater equity and social cohesion. Universal health coverage: it’s good for people AND the economy! Too often, people delay or miss out on medical treatment due to high health costs, resulting in longer-term illness within populations. This reduces workforce participation and productivity, ultimately leading to increased demand for long-term care or welfare support. Investing in universal health coverage strengthens the national economy by enhancing health and well-being, boosting workforce participation and productivity, and fostering resilience in individuals, families and communities. When populations are healthy, economies thrive! To protect everyone from financial hardship in accessing health care, we call on governments to: Make universal health coverage and financial protection for health a national priority! Adopt and implement laws to shield people from impoverishing health costs. Allocate budgets for an affordable package of essential health services. Establish national public health schemes that cover health costs for the entire population and are financed by national taxes. Minimize or eliminate user charges for those most in need, including individuals with low incomes or chronic conditions. Source : WHO Initiatives for UHC in India The National Health Policy 2017 envisages the attainment of the highest possible level of health without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence. The Government of India is committed to improve immunization coverage and achieve full immunization coverage of 90 percent. Launch of massive routine immunization (RI) campaigns, such as Mission Indradhanush (MI) and Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI), in part, reflects government’s efforts under Universal Immunization Program to reduce child mortality and morbidity. To boost the RI coverage in the country, Government introduced Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 to ensure reaching the unreached with all available vaccines and accelerate the coverage of children and pregnant women in the identified districts and blocks. Since 2014, Rotavirus vaccine, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), and the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine, and also the JE vaccine for adults have also been launched. The Pradhan Mantri Dialysis Program has been launched to provide free services through Dialysis Units under Free Drugs and Diagnostics Program. AMRIT outlets have been established to provide subsidised medicines To provide comprehensive primary care, more than 1.33 lakh Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) have now become operational and are working as hubs of teleconsultations services e-Sanjeevani, flagship initiative of Govt of India in digital health, elaborating that it has successfully saved 21.59 km per health visit to the patient, and enabled savings of Rs 941.51 in terms of direct and indirect cost per health visit leading to a saving of Rs 7,522 crore across the country. These teleconsultations are available at AB-HWCs Universal screening of common NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension and common cancers at the sub-centre and Primary Health Centre has been initiated. Through the two wings of Ayushman Bharat, the Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY), the government has been making quality healthcare affordable and accessible for crores of people in the country. Laqshya| Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative There is enough evidence that supports the fact that improving the quality of care in Labour rooms especially on the day of birth, is central to maternal and neonatal survival. Recognizing this fact, Government of India has launched Laqshya- Labor Room Quality Improvement Initiative. LaQshya is expected to improve the quality of care that is being provided to the pregnant mother in the Labour Room and Maternity Operation Theatres, thereby preventing the undesirable adverse outcomes associated with childbirth. This initiative will be implemented in Government Medical Colleges (MCs) besides District Hospitals (DHs), and high delivery load Sub-District Hospitals (SDHs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs). The initiative plans to conduct quality certification of labour rooms and also incentivize facilities achieving the targets outlined. The goal of this initiative is to reduce preventable maternal and new-born mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in Labour room and Maternity OT and ensure respectful maternity care. Related resources All about Universal Health Coverage