Prescription for Universal Health Coverage: Why UHC Must Include Access to Medicines

Dear colleague,

Reforming a health system in pursuit of universal health coverage (UHC) has the potential to transform health and save lives, but it carries enormous challenges for the leaders committed to this vision. From revenue collection to enforcement of quality standards, every aspect of the system must come together to make UHC successful and sustainable. With over 100 countries working their way toward UHC -- and UHC a prime consideration in post-2015 sustainable development conversations -- MSH is devoting this issue of the Global Health Impact newsletter to one of the essential elements of successful UHC: access to medicines.

Prescription for Universal Health Coverage:
Why UHC Must Include Access to Medicines

June 30, 2013

Achieving Successful UHC Depends on Medicines Management

"In principle, UHC means lifesaving drugs will be accessible and affordable for those who need them. But in practice, medicines coverage in country UHC plans and in private insurance schemes is often under-rated in terms of cost or importance and is sometimes not recognized at all," blogs MSH vice president Dr. Douglas L. Keene.

Medicines as Part of UHC: Starting a Dialogue

Doctors Anita Katharina Wagner and Dennis Ross-Degnan of Harvard Medical School share their top ten lessons from the UHC and access to medicines conference.

UHC and Access to Medicines: From Dialogue to Defining Action

At the June UHC and medicines "starting a dialogue" sessions, representatives from countries working toward UHC and private insurance schemes, and medicines and financing experts from across the globe, defined six domains of action to assure that medicines are adequately covered in sustainable UHC initiatives.

Smart Governance for Medicines under UHC

UHC carries unique governance challenges and can exacerbate existing challenges surrounding healthcare financing and service delivery. To overcome these challenges, leaders and managers will benefit greatly from sharing lessons from other health systems that are pursuing UHC or have achieved it already.

VIDEO: Perspectives on Medicines as Part of UHC

UHC Medicines as Part of Universal Health Coverage: Starting a Dialogue

Participants from the June dialogue share their views on UHC and medicines.
Watch video.

Better Storage and Inventory Practices Improving Access to Quality Medicines in Kenya

Staff receiving training on appropriate storage, use of reporting tools, and proper dispensing of medication has helped improve the quality of service to patients in Kenya.

The Ethiopian government is undertaking a bold initiative to ensure that medicinal supply and access are available throughout the country: greatly increased physical warehousing capacity through the introduction of a warehouse racking system.

In the remote areas of Democratic Republic of the Congo, electricity is a rare commodity. Providing a hospital with a 3.4 kilowatt solar power kit, which generates up to eight hours of electricity at one time, is enough to provide power to the maternity ward, operating rooms, pediatric care center, and the cold chain system that stores medicines.

Thirty-seven year-old Diogène is able to access free chronic disease services through community-based health insurance in Rwanda.

MSH and partners Women's Refugee Commission, Frontline Health Workers Coalition, International Medical Corps, and US Representative Nita Lowey, hosted a luncheon in Washington, DC, featuring Dr. Florence Guillaume, the Minister of Health of Haiti, Karen Cavanaugh of USAID, Inka Weissbecker of International Medical Corps, and Drs. Kathy Kantengwa and Steve Solter of MSH.

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Post-2015: Sustainable Health Development Requires UHC

"If U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wants sustainability, equity, and real transformation in global health, he should recommend UHC as a post-2015 health target," says Dr. Quick in an exclusive op-ed for Devex.