Health experts to call for U.N. resolution on UHC; WHO releases strategy on health policy and systems research

"Health experts and policymakers will urge a U.N. resolution on universal health coverage (UHC), making transformation of health systems a global political goal in the post-2015 development agenda, Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, said on Thursday" at the Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research held in Beijing, China, Live Mint reports, noting, "UHC is aimed at providing health care and financial risk protection to all citizens" (Krishnan, 11/1). According to PM Live, the WHO, "call[ing] for countries across the world to strengthen their health systems by embedding evidence-based research into every decision-making process ..., launched [at the symposium] two documents detailing both the importance of this strategy and recommendations on how to implement it, ... saying they represent a 'unique milestone in the evolution of health policy and systems research'" (11/1).

"The first of the two documents launched by the WHO ... is 'Changing Mindsets,' [.pdf] which describes the importance of this research and how it has helped influence policy already," while "[t]he WHO's second document, 'Options for Actions,' [.pdf] outlines a number of options for stakeholders to implement the use of research in any decisions made about health care systems," PM Live notes (11/1). "Indian delegate Sujatha Rao, while launching the WHO strategy, called for a greater recognition of the need for an integrated approach in health systems policy, especially after the 2015 deadline for achieving the so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," Live Mint writes. "Over the next three days, the symposium will be the platform for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) currently experimenting with UHC-related policy changes to learn from experiences, said Chen Zhu, the Chinese health minster," the news service adds (11/1).