Dansk Interparlamentarisk Gruppes bestyrelse 2020-21
IPU Alm.del Bilag 14
Offentligt
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Geneva, 26 February 2021
Office of the
Secretary General
Dear Madam Speaker,
Dear Mr. Speaker,
We are pleased to inform you that the IPU has
issued the report “Parliamentary
action
on universal health coverage in times of COVID-19”, enclosed to this letter. It is the
first report on the implementation of the IPU resolution
Achieving universal health
coverage by 2030: The role of parliaments in ensuring the right to health,
which was
adopted in October 2019.
The report highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed many of the
development gains achieved over the past 25 years, including on universal health
coverage (UHC). Parliaments reported challenges such as the diversion of resources
away from UHC, the disruption of essential health services, and new barriers to
healthcare coverage access to vulnerable and marginalized populations.
However, it is encouraging that parliaments remain committed to UHC and some
countries have been able to use the pandemic as an opportunity to accelerate its
implementation. The report illustrates how investments in UHC enables better
preparedness and response to health emergencies and highlights the roles that
parliaments can play in this regard. Now more than ever there is a need to prioritize
UHC to strengthen health systems and ensure equity in access to health.
Countries worldwide committed to UHC as part of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and reiterated their commitment through the IPU resolution on UHC.
Parliaments play a crucial role in turning internationally agreed development goals into
reality for their countries and people. The SDGs offer a globally agreed roadmap to
deliver on resilience for people, planet and the economy, and should be at the heart of
recovery efforts from COVID-19.
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 IPU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 14: Parliamentary action on universal health coverage in times of COVID-19
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The IPU continues to mobilize parliaments to share good practices and solutions to
inform the global parliamentary community and draw lessons for parliamentary action
on health. We encourage you to keep the IPU abreast of developments on UHC. In
order to address some of the gaps identified in the report, we are pleased to share a
questionnaire to collect information on current legislative processes on UHC and
parliamentary practices on establishing a legal framework to advance UHC and the
right to health. The information collected through this questionnaire will inform the next
report on the implementation of the IPU resolution on UHC to be prepared at the end
of 2021.
The questionnaire can also be accessed and completed at the following link:
https://trello.com/c/Z34jEa4D
We hope you will find the report useful and will continue sharing with the IPU your
Parliament’s initiatives, best
practices, and challenges in making UHC a reality for the
people.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Chungong
Secretary General
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