On September 18, leaders from the GHIT Fund attended, an event convened on the sidelines of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Chair of the GHIT Fund, served as a featured speaker.

This event was co-organized by the Governments of Japan, France, Germany, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, and UK, together with the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UHC 2030, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The achievement of UHC—a prominent target of the Sustainable Development targets (SDGs) (Goal 3.8)—improves overall health and, critically, reduces iniquity, thus increasing the potential for economic prosperity. The event aimed showcased solid commitments to UHC by global leaders and raised key issues to be discussed in advanced of the “UHC Forum 2017,” which will take place in Japan in December of this year.

Japan’s Prime Minister Abe provided keynote speech highlighting the importance of UHC as the core driver to achieve the SDGs. He emphasized the importance of cross-sectoral partnership and global frameworks to mobilize resources to achieve UHC. (Speech details are available in Japanese / English)

Dr. Kurokawa pointed out the importance of synergistic relationship between UHC and R&D. “If you want to deliver the products that GHIT invests in to patients, functioning health systems and regulatory frameworks are indispensable. UHC plays a pivotal role. GHIT will continue to promote R&D and delivery in close partnership with entities in Japan and overseas."

UNGA72 UHC event photos (WHO NY Office): Link

UNGA72 UHC event video (UN Web TV): Link

Together on the road to universal health coverage A call to action (WHO): Link

Universal health coverage - the best investment for a safer, fairer and healthier world (WHO): Link

Petition to the World Leaders for UHC: "Tell World Leaders Health Is a Human Right, Not a Privilege" (Global Citizen/UHC Coalition joint): Link

UNGA72 UHC event news (UHC2030): to be published 20 September: Link