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On Thursday, September 21, 2023, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra joined leaders from across the world for the United Nations General Assembly for the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage.
Below are the Secretary’s remarks, as prepared for delivery.
Deputy Secretary General, President of the General Assembly, and esteemed colleagues.
It is an honor to be with you today to advance Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and improve health and well-being for all.
Governments have a primary responsibility in the achievement of UHC. With the help of civil society and the private sector, we can improve equitable access to health services while protecting individuals from financial ruin.
The United States applauds continued efforts to advance UHC – an essential building block toward achieving global health equity, strengthening global health security, and preventing future pandemics.
We understand and witness the benefits of building strong health systems based on equity, inclusion, and opportunity.
Under President Biden’s leadership, we are moving health care in the U.S. from an illness-care system to a wellness-care system.
We are improving access to affordable health care, lowering the cost of essential medicines, and improving access to innovative therapies.
And by taking these steps, we further align the U.S. with fellow countries on the road to Universal Health Coverage.
We join the global community in urging action to get back on track in all critical UHC areas and restore essential health services to levels better than before the pandemic.
This includes reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services, routine childhood immunization, infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and TB, and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes.
We must invest in our health workforce.
And we cannot overlook the impact the past three years has had on mental health.
We must take bold action to include historically marginalized populations and ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
We must include the voices of women, the under-represented, and LGBTQIA+ populations in our decision-making.
And we must meaningfully include all people, in all their diversity, and reject policies that hinder their access to care because of bias, discrimination or stigma.
These actions are essential to meet our Sustainable Development Goals, and to build a more resilient world facing threats of climate change, future pandemics, and conflicts and crises around the world.
Reaching these ambitious targets requires all of us working together.
We face a critical inflection point in recommitting to invest in essential health services to accelerate our collective progress towards UHC.
There can be no delay or hesitation. We must get this done.
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