Sebelius highlights universal healthcare coverage at World Health Assembly

Universal healthcare coverage stood out as a major theme in Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ speech at the World Health Assembly plenary session in Geneva, Switzerland on May 20.

“Advancing the health of our nations is a fundamental commitment we make to all our people. As President [Barack] Obama recently reminded us, access to healthcare is ‘not some earned privilege—it is a right,” Sebelius told the assembly. “And that means we must work to ensure that everyone has access to the services they need.”

Eliminating social and institutional barriers to universal health coverage is an area where nations “must work tirelessly,” she said. The secretary cited work in the Americas region with the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization to realize universal health—including the strengthening of partnerships between public and private stakeholders—but acknowledged there is more work to be done.

Sebelius also discussed healthcare reform efforts in the United States. “Expanding access to health coverage has been a cornerstone goal of President Obama’s vision for strengthening opportunity for everyone, regardless of their station in life—and that goal is now poised to become a reality,” she said.

While acknowledging that expansion of healthcare access is within the domains of individual governments, Sebelius called on the international community to serve as “champions for universal coverage.”

Sebelius also touched on insufficient incentives for companies to research and develop drugs that primarily affect the poor. She noted steps taken by the assembly to monitor research and identify and prioritize research gaps to improve innovation and product development for the poor.

Other topics she discussed included the Americas region’s work to establish reporting and response guidelines during outbreaks of infectious disease, and efforts to combat counterfeit drugs.

“As we look to the future, we will continue to seek out solutions together when it comes to these and other challenges, including building more resilient health systems and addressing the needs of our aging population.  And we look forward to our continued work together in pursuit of the post-2015 Millennium Development goals,” Sebelius said.