N Engl J Med. 2015 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Politics and Universal Health Coverage - The Post-2015 Global Health Agenda.

Gupta V1, Kerry VB, Goosby E, Yates R.

Author information

• 1From the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (V.G.), and the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London (R.Y.) - both in the United Kingdom; the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital (V.G.), the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital (V.B.K.), the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School (V.B.K.), the Center for Global Health, Massachusetts General Hospital (V.B.K.), and Seed Global Health (V.B.K.) - all in Boston; and the Center for Implementation Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco (E.G.).

Abstract

When the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda begins on September 25, the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC) is expected to garner substantial attention. Bolstered by increasing evidence that UHC improves health outcomes,1 countries are seeking to build health-related goals around the concept of health care for all. Yet many lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not created UHC systems (see map). How can the global community translate vision into policy, especially in the face of complicated politics?