International Universal Health Coverage Day 2025; December 12th.

FORUM: “Unaffordable health costs? We’re sick of it!” International Universal Health Coverage Day 2025. The theme focuses on the lived experience behind these statistics, reminding government decision-makers that unaffordable health costs are making our communities poorer and sicker and holding us back on all of the Sustainable Development Goals. On UHC Day, WHO calls for urgent action to implement financial protection measures and eliminate out-of-pocket expenses. Despite numerous high-level political commitments to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, more than half of the world’s population still lacks access to essential health services. One in four people face financial hardship when paying for health care out of their own pockets-often at the expense of basic needs such as food, education or housing. Health for all is a prerequisite for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Healthier populations foster communities that are more resilient, productive, peaceful and prosperous. When people delay or forgo health care due to costs, they risk worsening health outcomes and longer-term health and financial burden. Conversely, when governments prioritize to ensure people have access to affordable health care, they lay the groundwork for sustainable progress across all sectors. This UHC Day, let’s share the stories behind the data to remind leaders that these aren’t just statistics, but human lives we’re talking about, Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #Timeforaction, #Healthexpenditure, #InvestinHealth, #healthForAll, #UHC, #12December, #UHCday, #UniversalHealthCoverage.

EVENTS: On December 12th, the Universal Health Coverage Day 2025 shines a spotlight on the devastating human impact of unaffordable health costs. More than half the world’s population still lacks access to essential health services. And a quarter of them face financial hardship when paying for health care out of their own pockets, often at the expense of food, education or housing. These numbers can be hard to grasp, but we must not forget that there are real people behind them. Register to participate!

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: The campaign toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to help advocates raise their voice and get involved, including messaging and visuals in multiple languages.
Explore the materials in Arabic, in Chinese, in French in Russian in Spanish languages and Get the communication materials!

The UHC Day campaign aims:

• Recognize and celebrate UHC progress in the regions;
• Raise awareness to improve understanding on the importance of UHC for societal and economic wellbeing.
• Empower the public and civil societies to actively engage policy makers to deliver on their UHC commitments.