2020 Volume 69 Issue 1 Pages 33-40
Universal health coverage (UHC) is the core driver of SDG 3. However, UHC cannot be attained unless health services are accessible, affordable and acceptable and financial risk protection systems are in place.
Currently, there are few mutual learning platforms to share experiences and exchange ideas or best practices among countries tackling similar challenges on the pathway to UHC. At the same time, there are significant lessons from the various aspects of Japan's experience in achieving and maintaining UHC that are of growing interest globally. In this paper, we analyze the contribution of the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in supporting UHC around the world through the annual training course supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), “Strengthening social health protection towards UHC.” We present lessons learned from this training course over the past few years and discuss what works for whom under what context to make progress towards UHC.
The course participants learned about Japan's experiences in establishing and maintaining UHC and presented their own proposal (Discussion Notes) for implementing solutions to move forward to achieve UHC in their context. We hope that they will be able to contribute to the strengthening of social health protection to achieve UHC in all of their countries.
