"The quest for universal health coverage (UHC) has gathered real
momentum over the past decade, with countries on every continent now
taking part. This is welcome news, since a lack of universal coverage
means that hundreds of millions of people around the world either do not
get the health care services they need, or they have to pay dearly for
them, often falling into poverty as a result. But the UHC agenda also
poses an enormous challenge to policy makers across the globe, and many
countries are eager to learn from the experiences of others as they
undertake the long journey toward UHC. Going Universal: How 24
Developing Countries Are Implementing Universal Health Coverage Reforms
from the Bottom Up draws on a wealth of new evidence to help enrich the
global knowledge base on UHC. It provides a synthesis of UHC reform
programs that placed a special focus on expanding coverage in ways
inclusive of the poor. The main objective was to document and analyze
their experiences based on a systematic data collection effort that
sought to capture in great detail how they have been implementing UHC
reforms. The main chapters oer an in-depth analysis of how countries are
addressing five key challenges: covering people, expanding benefits,
managing money, improving the supply of health care services, and
strengthening accountability. The UHC reform programs described in the
volume are new, massive, and transformational. Most were launched during
the past decade, and together they now cover more than 2 billion people.
But most importantly, the authors find that the programs are
fundamentally changing the way health systems operate, offering the
potential to achieve greater equity and better results for the money
spent. The authors identify key risks that lie ahead, as well as an
emerging agenda that requires more country and global learning. Overall,
this book offers those contributing to the achievement of UHC worldwide
a valuable new resource to help chart a way forward."
