Health Ministry forms a Solidarity Human Chain; reaffirms commitment towards Universal Health Care

Health Ministry forms a Solidarity Human Chain; reaffirms commitment towards Universal Health Care

1. Recently, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI along with the World Health Organization (WHO) had formed a Solidarity Human Chain as part of the World Health Day celebrations. The theme of World Health Day 2019 is Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere.
2. Universal health coverage (UHC) is defined as ensuring that all people have access to needed health services of sufficient quality without suffering financial hardship. It includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services- health promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.
3. Achieving universal health coverage is also one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 2015. SDG 3.8 calls for achieving universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by 2030.
4. The World Health day is celebrated on 7^thApril every year. At the first World Health Assembly in 1948, it was decided to observe 7 April of each year, with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day. The World Health Day is held to mark the founding of WHO.
5. The World Health Day celebration aims to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the WHO. The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health.