Heads of state and government are meeting in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and a key concern is that progress on the Sustainable Development Goals is far off track. At the current rate, 575 million people will live in extreme poverty and 84 million children will not be in school in 2030.
We, the UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel, are deeply concerned about this stagnation and of the development in which world leaders are taking SDG 3 on good health and well-being off the highest political agenda despite the political commitment they expressed in 2019 and the global COVID-19 pandemic experience.
Yet urgent action and strong political commitment to health is the only way to reverse this trend that is leaving people without access to essential health services, compromising our health security, and exacerbating inequities worldwide. Health and achieving universal health coverage is critical for the implementation of the Agenda 2030.
About the author
The UHC Movement Political Panel
This piece reflects the voice of the members of the UHC Movement Political Panel, which includes: Ambassador Minata Samaté Cessouma, commissioner for health, humanitarian affairs and social development of the African Union; Mr. James Chau, WHO goodwill ambassador and president of the China-United States Exchange Foundation; Dr. Mariam Jashi, UNITE chapter chair for Eastern Europe and Central Asia; Prof. Ilona Kickbusch, founding director at the Global Health Centre of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies; Dr. Justin Koonin, former UHC2030 co-chair; Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, United Nations special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Ms. Joy Phumaphi, co-chair of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Monitoring Board; Ms. Gisela Scaglia, UNITE chapter chair for Latin America and the Caribbean and vice governor of Santa Fe, Argentina; and Mr. Akihisa Shiozaki, member of the House of Representatives, Japan.
