Despite the recognition of health as a human right in the Constitution of the World Health Organization , Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , among others, profound inequalities in access to quality healthcare persist across and within countries: millions of households are pushed below the poverty line each year by catastrophic out-of-pocket medical costs, while the most marginalized populations bear a disproportionate burden of preventable illness and premature death. In response, this proposal to advance universal health coverage seeks to ensure every person can access the full continuum of essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, from health promotion and disease prevention through treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care, without suffering financial hardship, regardless of income, gender, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, migratory status, or geographic location. A compulsory, pooled public financing mechanism grounded in progressive taxation is central to this approach. Yet coverage alone is insufficient: UHC must address the structural determinants of health including housing, nutrition, education, and environmental conditions that create the preconditions for health upstream of any clinical intervention. In the broader context of the Roadmap, UHC contributes to a multidimensional vision of human flourishing and dignity, as part of a transition toward a well-being economy. Mental health is explicitly recognized as an integral component, given the well-documented vicious cycles linking poverty, inequality, and poor mental health. Progress toward UHC is feasible even under severe resource constraints: Thailand’s introduction of UHC led to sharp declines in poverty caused by out-of-pocket costs, Rwanda doubled life expectancy through community-based health insurance, and Kerala achieved the lowest infant mortality in India despite decades of relative poverty. In a world where the commodification of essential services has systematically exposed the poorest to financial ruin, guaranteeing health, and through it, the capacity to work, learn, and participate in society, as an enforceable right, rather than a market outcome, is both a moral imperative and a political precondition for poverty eradication.
