Correspondence to Abdur Razzaque Sarker; [email protected] Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world and has enjoyed a steady annual economic growth of 5–6% for more than a decade. According to the Bangladesh economic review, the incidence of poverty has declined considerably from 56.7% in 1991–1992 to 24.8% in 2015. The demographic structure of Bangladesh is chan...

Editorials 84 An adequate, performing health workforce is vital for improving health service coverage and health outcomes. 1 Yet the availability, distribution, capacity and performance of human resources for health (HRH) varies widely and many countries have fewer health workers than needed for high coverage of essential health services, according to the World health report 2006. 2 Signs of pr...

The passage of a UN General Assembly resolution on universal health coverage (UHC) in December, 2012, underlines how UHC is becoming a key global health objective. Adopted by consensus, the resolution urged member states to develop health systems that avoid substantial direct payments at the point of delivery and to implement mechanisms for pooling risks to avoid catastrophic health-care spendi...

Introduction Serious efforts are taking place worldwide to attain universal health coverage (UHC). In India, although an unattained goal for long, recent recommendations of the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) instituted by the Planning Commission have brought the UHC agenda to its zenith [1]. However, actualisation of HLEG recommendations requires an in-depth understanding of the structural and ...

Perspectives There is a burgeoning movement towards universal health coverage (UHC) – both at the national and the global political level – that seeks to ensure that all people everywhere receive the health services they need without experiencing financial hardship. The 25 wealthiest nations all have some form of universal coverage, as do several middle-income countries, including Brazil, Mexic...

We outline key conclusions of the World Health Organisation's report 'Making Fair Choices on the Path to Universal Health Coverage (UHC)'. The Report argues that three principles should inform choices on the path to UHC: I. Coverage should be based on need, with extra weight given to the needs of the worse off; II. One aim should be to generate the greatest total improvement in health; III. Con...

Universal health coverage (UHC) is a key policy issue in countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region. However, despite projections of significant increases in burden, there is little protection against the financial risks associated with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes. Thailand achieved UHC of all 67 million of the population in 2002, under three...

Global discussions on universal health coverage (UHC) have focussed attention on the need for increased government funding for health care in many low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this paper is to explore potential targets for government spending on health to progress towards UHC. An explicit target for government expenditure on health care relative to gross domestic product (...

Governments in low- and middle-income countries are legitimizing the implementation of universal health coverage (UHC), following a United Nation's resolution on UHC in 2012 and its reinforcement in the sustainable development goals set in 2015. UHC will differ in each country depending on country contexts and needs, as well as demand and supply in health care. Therefore, fundamental issues suc...

This article provides a commentary to Ole Norheim' s editorial entitled "Ethical perspective: Five unacceptable trade-offs on the path to universal health coverage." It reinforces its message that an inclusive, participatory process is essential for ethical decision-making and underlines the crucial importance of good governance in setting fair priorities in healthcare. Solidarity on both natio...