Universal health coverage (UHC)

The role of digital technologies for health financing and their potential contribution to UHC progress is receiving increased attention, although the evidence base is still very small, indicating the need for further documentation and assessments of countries’ practices. This paper seeks to contribute to gathering the evidence needed. Specifically, the paper assesses the experiences of three countries – Cambodia, India and Rwanda – to explore the use and role of digital technologies that support the identification of the poor and other vulnerable population groups.

Primary health care (PHC) is the essential strategy for reorientating health systems and societies to become healthier, equitable, effective and sustainable. WHO outlines 14 strategic and operational levers for policy-makers to strengthen PHC. Within each lever, there are multiple potential entry points for targeted actions to address racial discrimination, foster intercultural care, and reduce health inequities experienced by indigenous peoples as well as people of African descent, Roma and other ethnic minorities.

The new strategies propose a common vision to end epidemics and advance universal health coverage, primary health care and health security in a world where all people have access to high-quality, evidence-based and people-centred health services. The GHSS promote the disease-specific goals to end AIDS and the epidemics of viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections by 2030, with 5 strategic directions providing the overall guiding framework for achieving these goals.