open access: The Bangkok Statement on universal health coverage : The Lancet

"The theme of the Prince Mahidol Award Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on Jan 24—28, 2012, was Moving towards universal health coverage: health financing matters. At the close of the meeting, a 10-point declaration recognised universal health coverage (UHC) as fundamental to the right to health, and marked the commitment by more than 800 delegates to translate the rhetoric of UHC into better, more equitable health outcomes. Similar endorsements of UHC have been made before, including at the World Health Assembly in 2011. What makes the Bangkok Statement any more likely to hasten and widen the implementation of UHC?

One answer may be the power of the Prince Mahidol Award Conference and its sponsors to draw global health enthusiasts from a wide variety of disciplines and health systems. Delegates from 68 countries included donors and recipients of aid, managers and front-line health workers, ministers, economists, and consumers. From these many perspectives came the realisation that whether one seeks to provide access to health care for the 1 billion people who lack it, or to protect the 100 million people who end up in poverty every year as a result of medical costs, or to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals; UHC provides a common mechanism—and common cause. Simply put in a plenary by Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Kenya's Minister for health services, “universal health coverage is fundamental to improving the lives of people.”.......