Accelerating Progress towards Universal Health Coverage for Women and Children in South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific

In pursuing Universal Health Coverage (UHC), countries aim to extend coverage of quality health services to all people and to protect them from the risk of financial hardship when paying for them. Achieving a UHC system is as much a political process as a technical one. More and more countries are moving towards publicly financed health care systems that cover the whole population for essential health services, enabling them to reduce preventable illness and death, particularly in women and children. Using public financing, countries can allocate resources equitably to respond to their burden of disease, optimise health outcomes, boost economic growth and strengthen accountability to citizens.

All countries can make progress wherever they are on the UHC journey. This paper reviews lessons learned from across Asia and the Pacific using a literature review and interviews with key informants to identify best practices, challenges and opportunities to further advance UHC.