Point of view: The importance of leadership towards universal health coverage in low income countries

Abstract

Universal health coverage—defined as access to the full range of the most appropriate health care and technology for all people at the lowest possible price or with social health protection—was the goal of the 1978 Alma-Ata Conference on Primary Health Care in Kazakhstan. Many low-income (developing) countries are currently unable to reach this goal despite having articulated the same in their health-related documents. In this paper we argue that, over 30 years on, inadequate political and technical leadership has prevented the realization of universal health coverage in low-income countries.