The first UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a major political opportunity to progress the achievement of the SDGs and to contribute to the fulfilment of the right to health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally. It offers the prospect of transforming ambitions for health and rights into concrete commitments that can have meaningful impacts on global health. Universal health coverage is about realizing the right to the highest attainable standard of health for all, without financial hardship.
UHC is emerging as a dominant framework for countries to reach Sustainable Development Goals. SRHR interventions and services are essential to reaching UHC, and UHC is essential to ensuring universal access to SRHR interventions.
In this paper we explain the reasons why SRHR is an important element of UHC and we call on European Governments to take certain steps to make sure sexual and reproductive health is universally accessible.
The paper is also available in Spanish.
Photo credit: IPPF_Rupeni-Vatubuli_Vanuatu
