Essex marks International Universal Health Coverage Day with special event

The University of Essex's Centre for Global Health and Intersectional Equity Research is hosting a special global health perspective webinar as it marks International Universal Health Coverage Day.

Professor Reza Majdzadeh, from the School of Health and Social Care, will join Dr Andre Griekspoor, Senior Policy Advisor on Humanitarian and Emergency Interventions, World Health Organisation; and Professor Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany, to discuss the state of universal health coverage, the global challenges, and the impact of polycrises on global health systems.

It forms part of the Annual Universal Health Coverage Webinar Series held each year at Essex to mark International UHC Day, which recognises the United Nations’ historic endorsement of the right to health for all.

It comes as Professor Majdzadeh calls for a new approach to mitigating economic sanctions imposed on countries to address concerning figures showing that life expectancy is reduced by 1.4 years in those nations brought under restrictions.

In a correspondence published in The Lancet, co-authored by Hanieh Sadat Sajadi, Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, and Reza Majdzadeh, it notes that half of the 22 countries or regions based in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region are currently under some form of economic sanction.

The publication highlights the WHO's efforts to address the impact of sanctions but calls for further measures to alleviate the pressure on health systems in affected countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

These include:

• Establishing independent humanitarian channels to ensure the free flow of essential medical goods.

• Strengthening health systems to enhance resilience through governance and capacity building.

• Improving partnerships between governments and international organisations to create coordinated responses to economic sanctions and real-time assessments to respond to specific challenges.

This group's ongoing research has demonstrated that: "Economic sanctions might serve diplomatic objectives, but their effect on health cannot be ignored.

"Strengthening health systems to enhance resilience through governance, capacity building, and global health diplomacy is crucial to mitigating these effects.

"Global health entities, including WHO, should play a vital role in safeguarding the health of vulnerable communities."

Today’s webinar is being held via Zoom and takes place at 12 pm.