World Health Organization and soccer icons come together to score “Health for All” to build a healthier future

On Universal Health Care Day (UHC Day), the World Health Organization (WHO) has teamed up with international football icons to encourage governments and people around the world to take action to achieve health for all. UHC ensures that everyone, everywhere, can access the support they need and stay healthy without being pushed into financial hardship.

To mark UHC Day, WHO is launching two new tools: one to help governments design and deliver the right packages of services for their populations; and the second to provide people with reliable information to support the everyday decisions they make to protect their health and well-being.

“The World Cup is the greatest prize in football, and the greatest prize in life is good health and well-being,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. “Health is not a luxury for the rich, but a fundamental human right and the foundation of peaceful, prosperous and sustainable economies and societies. The tools we’re launching today will help governments and individuals realize that right.”

UHC Day 2022 comes at a critical time when countries around the world are rebuilding from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while facing many other crises such as economic and energy constraints, climate change and conflict.

UHC Day begins the countdown to the High-Level Meeting on UHC to be held at the United Nations General Assembly in 2023. Heads of State and Government, at the first High-Level Meeting on UHC in 2019, affirmed that health is a prerequisite for that outcome and indicator of the social, economic and ecological dimensions of sustainable development. They re-committed strongly to achieving UHC by 2030 by scaling up global efforts to build a healthier world for all. The 2023 meeting is an opportunity to assess progress and galvanize political support and global action towards achieving the UHC goals.

UHC day at the FIFA World Cup

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022™ semi-finals, WHO and its Goodwill Ambassador for Sport and Health, football legend Didier Drogba, led the celebration of UHC Day in Doha, Qatar. This was part of a day-long event organized by the Education Above All Foundation to highlight United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being.

“I found myself in an unusual place where if I had problems on the pitch, help came quickly, and we’ve seen how vital that support can be lately. But off the pitch, we know, that’s not always the case,” said Didier Drogba. “Ill-equipped clinics, unsupported health workers and insufficient medicines and vaccines threaten the well-being of people around the world. Good health requires teamwork, so we need governments to commit to policies that support universal health coverage and give everyone access to what they need for health. When we come together for health for all, we all win.”

Football enthusiasts of all ages showed their support for health for everyone as electronic dance artist and singer, The Mad Stuntman, performed his famous song “I Like to Move It”, highlighting the importance of staying active and the role of sport in promoting good health and well-being.

Sherrie Silver, a Rwandan-British MTV choreographer, United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development advocate, Malaria No More ambassador and Rwandan development advocate also led the audience in a dance called the World Cup Workout.

“On Universal Health Insurance Day, let’s all be active and play our part to make health for all our goal,” said Alisson Becker, Brazil and Liverpool goalkeeper and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Health Promotion.

A new WHO tool to help countries deliver UHC

Achieving national health goals is hampered by the lack of a structured approach in designing and providing a comprehensive package of health services that are adapted to the local context.

WHO is launching a new tool called Delivery and implementation of universal health insurance service packages or the UHC SPDI tool to support countries in designing their unique UHC health service packages. This innovative and practical online tool includes functions that will enable national health planners to select from the comprehensive range of health services — encompassing promotive, preventive, resuscitative, curative, rehabilitative and palliative services — that people need to achieve the highest possible standard of health and well-being.

The tool is also designed to help identify the needs for human resources, essential medical products, infrastructure and other elements necessary for the effective delivery of health services. It also emphasizes primary and emergency health care of the first contact and emphasizes the approach of primary health care as a basis for strengthening health systems and bringing all sectors under the vision of achieving health for all. Successful implementation of the national health service package will ultimately enable countries to accelerate progress towards UHC.

Universal health information for “Health for All”

WHO has also launched a digital resource for the public called, “Your Life, Your Health: Tips and Information for Health and Well-Being.” It provides people at different stages of life with reliable health information that they can easily access, understand and use in their daily lives.

Note to editors and journalists:

About General Health Care Day

Universal Health Care Day (UHC Day) on December 12 is an annual rallying point for advocates to raise their voices and share the stories of the millions of people still waiting for health, call on leaders to invest smarter in health and remind the world of the UHC imperative. It is an official day designated by the United Nations to mark the anniversary of the unanimous acceptance of UHC in 2012 as a key priority for international development.

The theme of UHC Day 2022 is “Building the world we want: a healthy future for all.”

Visit the campaign page at https://www.who.int/campaigns/universal-health-coverage-day/2022

About a healthy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

WHO and the State of Qatar have partnered with FIFA on the Healthy 2022 World Cup project. It aims to ensure that the tournament will be a healthy and safe event and that the measures implemented and lessons learned will support the delivery of healthy and safe mega sporting events in the future.

The project aims to ensure the delivery and legacy of a healthy and safe FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ by establishing the event as an impactful, sustainable and sustainable model that promotes the integration of health, safety and well-being for future mega sporting events.

Find out more about the WHO program for sport and health: https://www.who.int/initiatives/sports-and-health

The resource provides basic information, based on World Health Organization technical guidelines, on important topics such as maintaining health during pregnancy and after childbirth or how to be healthy and active in later adulthood. It also provides information about people’s rights and skills in accessing and using information for health and well-being.