Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people can obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. As Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.8, UHC is tracked jointly by the World Health Organization and the World Bank with biannual Global Monitoring Reports. The latest Tracking Universal Health Coverage – Global Monitoring Report 2023 paints an alarming picture of worldwide UHC trends during the first two decades of the millennium. After years of progress, the expansion in coverage of essential health services (SDG 3.8.1) has stalled, with an estimated 4.5 billion people lacking coverage as of 2021. In addition, the worldwide share of households using more than 10% of their budget on out-of-pocket health payment (SDG 3.8.2) has continuously increased, with more than 1 billion people suffering from such catastrophic health spending by 2019. In addition, up to 1.3 billion individuals were pushed or pushed further into poverty by medical spending.
