International Health Partnership UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

2030 International Health Partnership
UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE ADVOCACY GUIDE
A guide to promote health systems strengthening to achieve universal health coverage.
SEPTEMBER 2018

2030 International Health Partnership
ALL COUNTRIES NEED STRONG HEALTH SYSTEMS to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. Every person, wherever they are, should be able to access and afford quality health services.
UHC2030 PROVIDES A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PLATFORM to promote collaborative working in countries and globally on health systems strengthening.
WE ADVOCATE INCREASED POLITICAL COMMITMENT to universal health coverage and facilitate accountability and knowledge sharing.

www.UHC2030.org

@UHC2030

HealthForAll

CONTENTS
A look back at 2017............................................................................................................................. 4 The road ahead in 2018-2019 .......................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 1
UHC2030 framework for advocates: aligning your advocacy with the global movement for health for all .......................................................................6 User guide..................................................................................................................................................................7 UHC2030 and advocacy......................................................................................................................................8 About UHC..............................................................................................................................................................11 Strategic advocacy pillars to maximize our impact .................................................................................15
CHAPTER 2
How to make your case for UHC: a step-by-step guide .................................................................17 A step-by-step guide .........................................................................................................................................18
Audience........................................................................................................................................................... 18 Messages..........................................................................................................................................................19 Messengers...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Delivery .............................................................................................................................................................22 Resources.........................................................................................................................................................22 Gaps ...................................................................................................................................................................22 First Steps.........................................................................................................................................................22 Policy areas and actions.....................................................................................................................................23 Evaluation ...............................................................................................................................................................26
Annex
Tools, resources and example policy actions .......................................................................................27 Messages Example social media messages Milestone calendar Op-ed tips and inspiration Event tips and inspiration Advocacy examples Videos Graphics Portals and platforms
2030 International Health Partnership

A LOOK BACK AT 2017
2017 was a significant year for universal health coverage – globally and nationally – in large part due to the unwavering efforts of UHC advocates everywhere. Never have we seen so much political momentum for universal health coverage as we are seeing now.

WHAT DID WE ACHIEVE? In addition to the formalisation of UHC2030 – the health system platform that promotes multi-stakeholder collaboration for universal health coverage – we witnessed world leaders come together at the UHC Forum 2017 in Tokyo, where partners held the largest ever UHC Day event on 12.12.17. We celebrated the formal UN recognition of UHC Day and witnessed hundreds of people-led events around the world calling for health systems that leave no one behind. UHC2030 supported 25 of those events, which ranged from large-scale rallies – like the one that brought together 600 advocates in Bangladesh – to forums, panels, community discussions and more.
As we acknowledged the impressive strides made toward UHC, we were also reminded of the significant work that has yet to be done. The publication of new data in the Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2017 Global Monitoring Report revealed that at least half the world’s population still lacks access to essential health services and that about 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year due to their health expenditures.

NEVER HAVE WE SEEN SO MUCH POLITICAL MOMENTUM FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE AS WE ARE SEEING NOW.

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© 2012 John Kihoro, Tupange (Jhpiego Kenya), Courtesy of Photoshare

THE ROAD AHEAD IN 2018-2019

To continue driving progress toward UHC, we – the advocates and people calling for strong health systems that leave no one behind – must grasp the many opportunities in 2018 and 2019 to expand the breadth and depth of the UHC movement, particularly by supporting advocacy at the national level.
Here are some key moments that can be harnessed to continue to advocate for health for all.
GLOBALLY CELEBRATED DAYS IN 2018 • World Health Day (April 7) • International UHC Day (December 12)
ANNUAL MEETINGS • The UHC Financing Forum (April 19-20) • The World Health Assembly (May 21-26) • UN General Assembly (September 18-30)

The UHC2030 Advocacy Guide builds on the recommendations set forth in Accelerating Political Momentum for Universal Health Coverage: UHC2030 Framework for Advocates (Framework for Advocates) to include tactical considerations and resources to help a broad range of advocates across varying sectors conceptualise and execute advocacy initiatives that are grounded in the belief that UHC is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. This guide will be updated on an annual basis to ensure that existing and emerging advocates continue to have the resources needed to call for UHC.
UHC2030 is committed to working with a wide range of advocates to create a world in which everyone can access the essential health services they need without the risk of financial hardship. Together – through strategic and persistent advocacy – we can build the strong health systems needed to make health for all a reality.

MAJOR GLOBAL HEALTH-RELATED MEETINGS • UN High-level Meetings on NCDs and
Tuberculosis (September) • The 40th Anniversary of the Alma-Ata
Declaration (October 16-25) • 5th Global Symposium on Health Systems
Research (8-12 October)
VARIOUS NATIONAL ELECTIONS • from Pakistan to Cameroon.

2018: A YEAR WITH UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

For a more comprehensive list of national and global UHC milestones in 2018, please see the online Milestone Calendar or annex of this guide.

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2030 International Health Partnership
CHAPTER 1
UHC2030 FRAMEWORK FOR ADVOCATES:
Aligning your advocacy with the global movement for health for all.
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CHAPTER 1 User guide
USER GUIDE
HOW CAN YOU MAKE THE MOST OF THIS GUIDE? While this guide includes a menu of cross-cutting resources, it does not – and cannot – capture all the potential ways to advocate for UHC. This is because the most successful advocacy strategies and materials are heavily tailored to reach a specific audience.
As such, we encourage you to use this guide as a springboard to develop content and tactics that will resonate with your own communities so that you can more effectively call for universal health coverage.

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN? The UHC2030 Advocacy Guide provides an overview of what universal health coverage is, why it matters and how you can mobilise bottom-up change at the grassroots and community level to influence nationallevel policies and make meaningful health system reforms, ensuring that no one is left behind.
The guide aims to share specific tools to help you call on policy and decision makers to focus on improving any and all of the three pillars of Healthy systems for universal health coverage - a joint vision for healthy lives (joint vision): service delivery, health financing and governance. The intersection of these three pillars aims to create an environment in which UHC is a measurable and achievable goal – something we can all get behind.
WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR? The UHC2030 Advocacy Guide is a resource to help a wide range of universal health coverage advocates – spanning government, parliametarians, academia, civil society, the private sector and more – to conceptualise and execute successful advocacy strategies that advance UHC at community, regional, national and global levels.

THE UHC2030 ADVOCACY GUIDE IS A RESOURCE TO HELP A WIDE RANGE OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE ADVOCATES.

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© 2017 Courtesy of SERAC-Bangladesh

CHAPTER 1 UHC2030 and advocacy

UHC2030 AND ADVOCACY

As a multi-stakeholder partnership, UHC2030 – along with its partners and related initiatives – nurtures a joint vision for health systems and UHC. It convenes partners to strengthen common messaging, and coordinates strategies and activities to affect positive change for accelerated and equitable progress towards UHC.

UHC2030 advocates for increasing political commitment to UHC and facilitates accountability and knowledge sharing. It frames emerging priorities, identifies bottlenecks and proposes collective recommendations to accelerate progress towards UHC.
UHC2030 has developed Accelerating Political Momentum for Universal Health Coverage: UHC2030 Framework for Advocates (Framework for Advocates) to support and align diverse stakeholders within and beyond UHC as they conceptualise and execute advocacy initiatives that are grounded in the belief that UHC is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.

UHC IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND THE SMART THING TO DO.

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© 2014 Arturo Sanabria, Courtesy of Photoshare

CHAPTER 1 UHC2030 and advocacy

All countries need strong health systems to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. Every person, wherever they are, should be able to access and afford quality health services. UHC2030 is a movement that fosters political will to achieve UHC and is a platform for multiple stakeholders to exchange knowledge and act collectively to strengthen health systems (box1).

Universal health coverage is an inherently political agenda, and political will is essential to secure and sustain investment in health and drive appropriate health system reforms. That’s why UHC2030 aims to build political momentum around Healthy systems for universal health coverage - a joint vision for healthy lives and advocate for sufficient, appropriate and wellcoordinated resource allocation to health systems.

BOX 1 UHC2030’s mission
UHC2030’s mission is to create a movement for accelerating equitable and sustainable progress towards universal health coverage.
UHC2030 provides a multi-stakeholder platform that promotes collaborative working at global and country levels on health systems strengthening (HSS). In countries receiving external development assistance, we continue to promote adherence to effective development cooperation principles as the most important way to ensure coordination around HSS.
In endorsing the UHC2030 Global Compact, members collectively subscribe to the following key principles to guide action in prioritising and implementing health systems strengthening:

1. Leaving no one behind: a commitment to equity, non-discrimination and a human rights based approach
2. Transparency and accountability for results
3. Evidence-based national health strategies and leadership
4. Making health systems everybody’s business with engagement of citizens, communities, civil society and private sector
5. International cooperation based on mutual learning across countries and development effectiveness principles.

Our advocacy focuses on affecting policy at country, regional and global levels. This means engaging with all our partners and stakeholders, including related initiatives and networks to facilitate accountability and knowledge sharing.
UHC2030 supports strong accountability frameworks to drive progress toward UHC. That is why UHC2030 aims to facilitate accountability for progress towards health systems strengthening and UHC and contribute to a more integrated approach to accountability for health in the SDGs. Together with our partners, we aim to build on lessons learnt from past experiences in order to add value to the existing landscape of initiatives in health and related sectors.
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Across the breadth of the partnership at country and global levels, we hope to grow the UHC movement and employ a variety of tactics including lobbying, popular mobilisation and media education to achieve our shared goals of supporting diverse stakeholders as they advocate for meaningful health reforms that leave no one behind (box 2).
ALL COUNTRIES NEED STRONG HEALTH SYSTEMS TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE BY 2030.

CHAPTER 1 UHC2030 and advocacy
BOX 2 What we advocate
1. Continue promoting a strong value case for UHC. While support for UHC is greater than ever before, we must not take this relatively new reality for granted. To mobilise even broader support for our cause and encourage needed policies and investments at the country level, we must keep convincing decision-makers, their constituents and stakeholders working across health and development that investing in UHC is in their – and everyone’s – best interests. Convincing policymakers and diverse communities at all levels to stand up for UHC begins with communicating the right messages by the right messengers at the right milestones. See Chapter 2 for more on how to get started.

2. Support and spotlight progress happening at the country level. To succeed, the movement for universal health coverage must be country-driven. This is because national advocates are bestpositioned to define success in their context, build awareness and engagement in their communities and hold leaders accountable for short-term goals. The global movement must find ways to support and celebrate countries’ intermediate steps toward health for all and give national champions the recognition they deserve.
3. Earn the support of stakeholders across global health and development. A growing number of organisations across health and development are voicing support for universal health coverage, but this is just a first step. We must all – as global and national advocates who care about health – do our part to break down the illusory siloes between issue communities, sectors and organisations in practice to strive more powerfully toward our common goal: strong health systems that will deliver health for all.

TO SUCCEED, THE MOVEMENT FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE MUST BE COUNTRY -DRIVEN.

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© 2017 Courtesy of Kenya Medical Association