Universal health coverage and NCDs

“Out-of-pocket payments for NCD treatment and care, trap poor households in cycles of catastrophic expenditure, impoverishment, and illness, particularly in countries lacking social protection and health insurance. Universal health coverage and access is a critical enabler to achieving good health outcomes for all, and a necessary part of global and national health and development frameworks.”

Health systems in LMICs are challenged to provide all people with access to affordable and quality health services. Worse, NCDs pose a substantial financial burden to many households. From lost income to medicines to laboratory and hospitalization costs, the expenses can be insurmountable. Most experts agree that long-term and effective NCD management in LMICs can only occur with universal health coverage. Otherwise, the majority of patients simply cannot afford proper care.

— NCD Alliance, Universal Health Coverage & NCDs

Access

Accelerated

“Universal health coverage is not just about the access to care and the management within health services and so on. A critical part of that: you need to know what it is you’re treating. So, it has to be a core part of the discussions about universal health coverage. The essential packages required to be able to provide universal access to your populations.”

— Pascale Allotey,
Director for the Institute for
Global Health UN University

The drive for UHC can contribute greatly to the NCD response. Access Accelerated, an ambitious partnership between 23 different pharmaceutical companies, the World Bank and the Union for International Cancer Control, seeks to expand health coverage by reducing barriers to prevention, treatment, and care for NCDs in LMICs. Launched at the 2017 World Economic Forum, Accelerated Access marked the first time that these companies have come together in partnership with governments, civil society, multilaterals, and nongovernmental organizations to support initiatives addressing NCDs. 

There are currently 63 new or extended initiatives under Access Accelerated. An example of these initiatives is the Healthy Communities project, led by Pfizer and nonprofit Population Services International, which aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in Myanmar and Vietnam, screening more than 500,000 people in underserved sites and training up to 400 workers in 360 private sector health facilities in hypertension management.

There are currently 63 new or extended initiatives under Access Accelerated. An example of these initiatives is the Healthy Communities project, led by Pfizer and nonprofit Population Services International, which aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in Myanmar and Vietnam, screening more than 500,000 people in underserved sites and training up to 400 workers in 360 private sector health facilities in hypertension management.