Multi-stakeholder Hearing In Preparation For The United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting On Uhc

April 30th, 2019 / Hillary K Bainny
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This hearing in New York on 29 April is part of the preparatory process for the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on universal health coverage on 23 September 2019.


The President of the General Assembly, with the support of the World Health Organization and UHC2030, convened an interactive multi-stakeholder hearing on 29 April 2019 at the United Nations in New York, as part of the preparatory process for UN HLM.





The hearing is part of the preparatory process for the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on universal health coverage, which will take place on 23 September 2019 in New York, with the overall theme: Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UHC2030 are supporting the President of the General Assembly in the organization of the hearing.


The hearing took take place from 10:00 to 18:00, in the General Assembly Hall at the UN Headquarters in New York. The discussion focused on core themes around UHC, noting that UHC is a catalyst for social-economic development and a key contributor to equity, social justice and inclusive economic growth.


Investing in health systems for UHC drives progress on all health-related targets as well as across several Sustainable Development Goals beyond the health sector, including

Goal 1 (no poverty),

Goal 2 (food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture),

Goal 4 (quality education),

Goal 5 (gender equality),

Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation),

Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth) and

Goal 16 (inclusive societies).


The hearing aimed to engage the active participation of “appropriate senior-level representatives of Member States, observers of the General Assembly, parliamentarians, representatives of local government, relevant United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, invited civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations, academia, medical associations, the private sector and broader communities, ensuring the participation and voices of women, children, youth and indigenous leadership” as part of the preparatory process.


It provided a unique opportunity to mobilize voices from a broad range of multi-sectoral stakeholders.

Participants exchanged views on key priorities to raise with Heads of States during the HLM, while underscoring experiences and best practices on the ground, highlighting the special challenges faced by civil society organisations, private sector and other stakeholders.

The outcome of the hearing will inform the preparation of the zero-draft political declaration on UHC that will be negotiated by Member States.

Timeline of key dates
29th April - Interactive Multi-stakeholder Hearing

23rd September - UN High-level Meeting on UHC


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