SEA/RC69/4 - Ministerial Roundtable: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (‎SDGs)‎ were adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015. This Ministerial Roundtable will discuss developments over the last year, explore how Member States are tackling this ambitious development agenda, and how it can be used to accelerate improvements in health. The SDGs call for an integrated approach to sustainable development, with a focus on the most vulnerable: “leave no one behind”. The Roundtable will consider how countries are building on lessons learned from the MDGs. It will discuss how Universal Health Coverage (‎UHC)‎ provides a unified approach to improving access to care, is central to achieving the health SDGs, and will explore countries’ progress in defining priorities, targets and next steps. It will consider ways of working with a range of stakeholders key to making progress on the health SDGs, including communities, non-State actors and other sectors. The High-Level Preparatory Meeting held in WHO Regional Office in New Delhi from 11–14 July 2016 reviewed the attached working paper and made the following recommendations. Actions by Member States (‎1)‎ Reflect upon lessons learned from the MDGs applicable to the SDG; identify obstacles to achieving the health-related SDGs with a focus on UHC, and define priorities, targets and next steps for a more unified approach to improving access to care including through community engagement. (‎2)‎ Share ideas on new ways of working with other sectors, non-State actors and development partners. Actions by WHO (‎1)‎ Continue to refine the agenda and background document for RC69; frame the questions to be addressed and propose practical follow-up.(‎2)‎ Consider holding a regional consultation on the monitoring and evaluation framework for the health SDGs, following the Regional Committee session. This Working Paper and the HLP Meeting recommendations are submitted to the Sixty-ninth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia for its consideration and decision.