NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 21 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a position paper on building health systems resilience towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and health security during COVID-19 and beyond.
WHO noted that the systems will reinforce the urgent need for renewed and heightened national and global commitment to make countries better prepared and health systems resilient against all forms of public health threats.
It encompasses capacities for essential public health functions that improve, promote, protect and restore the health of all people; building strong primary health care as a foundation for bringing health services closer to communities; all-hazards emergency risk management that strengthens the ability of countries to prevent and tackle health emergencies, and can surge to meet the additional health security demands imposed by health emergencies; and engaging the whole-of-society so that all sectors work together towards a common goal of health for all.
These efforts will also help bolster the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) and accelerate the achievement of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
The 7 policy document comes at a crucial time to provide leaders and policymakers with recommendations on positioning health within the wider discussions on socioeconomic recovery and transformation brought about by COVID-19 that has also led to a protracted disruption of essential health services.
COVID-19 has hit vulnerable populations particularly hard and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities even further. This highlights the need for countries to take every opportunity to rebuild their health systems sustainably, more equitably and closer to communities.
“The pandemic has been a significant setback in our efforts to support Member States to progress towards universal health coverage,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We cannot build a safer world from the top down; we must build from the ground up. Preparing for, preventing, detecting and responding rapidly to epidemics starts with strong primary health care and public health systems, skilled health workers, and communities empowered and enabled to take charge of their own health. That must be the focus of our attention, and our investment.”
