The story of Mr. Figueira, who struggles to balance the cost of food, his children’s schooling, and life-saving medications for high blood pressure and diabetes, highlights the harsh reality that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) seeks to address. UHC aims to guarantee access to essential health services without exposing families to financial risk, ensuring that no one must delay treatment or sacrifice basic needs due to illness.
Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December serves as a global reminder of the urgent need to act. Health is a fundamental human right recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enshrined in many national constitutions, including Angola’s. Yet, millions of people worldwide remain without access to essential services, and financial barriers continue to push families into hardship.
The 2025 Global Report by the WHO and World Bank shows that despite progress between 2000 and 2023—when the Service Coverage Index (SCI) rose from 54 to 71 points—4.6 billion people still lack essential healthcare, and 2.1 billion experience financial hardship from out-of-pocket expenses. Medicines are the largest contributor, consuming over half of household healthcare budgets in most countries, and up to 60% in the poorest nations, leaving less for food, education, and other necessities.
The slow expansion of quality healthcare has serious human consequences. Maternal mortality has remained stagnant since 2015, nearly 300,000 women die annually from pregnancy or childbirth complications, child immunization coverage has plateaued, and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and mental illness cause 17 million premature deaths each year, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Without accelerated action, the global SCI is projected to reach only 74/100 by 2030, leaving one in four people exposed to financial hardship.
Strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) is the most effective and equitable path toward achieving UHC. PHC can address up to 90% of health needs, save 60 million lives, and extend global life expectancy by 3.7 years by 2030. In Angola, this means having functional, well-equipped health posts and centers near communities, trained and motivated health professionals, accessible medicines, and simplified pathways to care that remove barriers to treatment.
Key actions to reinforce PHC include securing sustainable health financing—targeting 15% of the General State Budget—ensuring provision of essential healthcare to vulnerable populations, centralizing medicine procurement with transparent protocols, refurbishing health facilities, training and retaining professionals in rural areas, investing in preventive health and literacy campaigns, implementing data-driven governance, and adopting multisectoral strategies that address water, sanitation, nutrition, education, and social protection.
Every day without action deepens poverty caused by healthcare costs. Health should not be a privilege or a source of financial distress. Universal Health Coverage is a moral, policy, and economic imperative. Countries that guarantee health rights strengthen social cohesion, institutional trust, and resilience to crises.
On Universal Health Coverage Day, the message is clear: no one should fall ill and into poverty. Investments in health are investments in development, equity, and human dignity. Coordinated efforts by families, governments, the private sector, media, and the international community are essential to ensure that citizens, like Mr. Figueira, never have to choose between food and medicine.
