Each year, Dec. 12 marks Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC). This year’s theme was Leave No One’s Health Behind: Invest in Health Systems for All. To celebrate UHC and raise awareness of the imperative of Health for All, IDF Europe held a two-fold campaign involving MEPs Mobilising for Diabetes interest group to advocate for UHC at the EU level, and Member Associations (MAs) to promote the UHC Day beyond the EU. Our MAs shared messages on the role of governments and health systems to protect everyone, especially the most vulnerable in our society.
UHC is based on the principle that everyone, everywhere should have access to quality essential health services without suffering financial hardship. It is also Target 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 – ‘Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.’
In many parts of Europe, people living with diabetes still do not have access to the therapies, care, supplies, technologies or education they need to achieve the best possible health outcomes. In their messages, our MAs highlighted the importance of UHC for people living with diabetes and other chronic conditions, multimorbidity, the elderly and people from lower socio-economic positions – the most vulnerable in our society. The MAs also underlined that now is the time to build strong, equitable and resilient health systems through which everyone can avail themselves of the care they need without incurring out-of-pocket expenses.
We want to express our gratitude to the following associations for taking part in the UHC campaign: Azerbaijan Diabetes Society, Georgian Union of Diabetes and Endocrine Associations, Association of Doctors-Endocrinologists of Kazakhstan, Macedonian Diabetes Association, Russian Diabetes Federation.
The messages of our Member Associations can be viewed below:
#HealthForAll #LeaveNoOneBehind #IfNotNowWhen
