This publication builds on our industry’s eight guiding principles on universal health coverage (UHC), developed in 2014, including our views on the key ingredients required for achieving UHC, and reaffirms our commitment to play our part. But before we can pave the way forward, we must first address why it is now more critical than ever to rise to this challenge.

Significant global health gains have been achieved in recent years: life expectancy has increased in many parts of the world; six million fewer children under the age of five years died in 2016 than in 1990; polio is on the verge of being eradicated; and 21 million people living with HIV are now receiving treatment. Despite this  progress, people everywhere continue to face a complex mix of interconnected threats to their health and well-being—from poverty and inequality to conflict and climate change. Furthermore, the growing burden of disease continues to challenge the global community in finding and implementing adequate, ethical, and sustainable solutions to reach UHC. We still have a way to go in fulfilling the vision of the World Health Organization (WHO) of a world in which all people attain the highest possible standard of health and well-being.

Nevertheless, when it comes to health, we cannot afford to shy away from a challenge. We, the global community, have set ambitious and unifying goals that require us to come together as partners, to raise the bar and seek tools to speed up development for the benefit of all. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution in 2012 committing all Member States to work to attain UHC. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for achieving peace and prosperity for people and our planet through the realization of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.