Masterclass - Realizing Universal Health Coverage: understanding the central role of legal frameworks
1
Institute of global health, Faculty of medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1338
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Achieving health for all by 2030 is a central ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals, with Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at its core (Dagron, 2022). UHC ensures that everyone can access essential health services without financial hardship, and its importance has grown as countries increasingly recognize its role in reducing poverty, promoting gender equality, supporting education, strengthening climate resilience, and building inclusive societies (United Nations General Assembly, 2019). This commitment has been reinforced over time through multiple political declarations, including recent global agreements such as the 2025 Pandemic Agreement. Yet, despite these strong political and legal multilateral commitments, progress remains uneven. Existing global monitoring frameworks have been indispensable in tracking service coverage and financial risk, but they remain largely outcome- and finance-oriented (World Bank, World Health Organization, 2025), offering limited insight into the institutional, legal, and governance arrangements that shape national UHC trajectories. This absence of legal and governance analysis represents a significant blind spot in health systems research, limiting the ability of governments to design evidence-based, structurally grounded reforms. It is necessary to improve the knowledge of public health authorities regarding the legal determinants of UHC. Strong legal frameworks translate policy into action, support effective health system functions, define the rules for equitable access to health services and provide the means for national governments to implement coverage for all.
METHODS:
This Masterclass introduces the principles and legal foundations of UHC, examining how legal frameworks shape healthcare access. Participants will be able to learn about legal instruments influencing accessibility to essential services by following the presentation and actively discussing the reality of equitable access to healthcare in their own countries.
RESULTS:
By the end of the Masterclass, participants will be equipped with practical tools to analyze national legal frameworks and propose reforms that advance sustainable, rights-based progress toward UHC.
Achieving health for all by 2030 is a central ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals, with Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at its core (Dagron, 2022). UHC ensures that everyone can access essential health services without financial hardship, and its importance has grown as countries increasingly recognize its role in reducing poverty, promoting gender equality, supporting education, strengthening climate resilience, and building inclusive societies (United Nations General Assembly, 2019). This commitment has been reinforced over time through multiple political declarations, including recent global agreements such as the 2025 Pandemic Agreement. Yet, despite these strong political and legal multilateral commitments, progress remains uneven. Existing global monitoring frameworks have been indispensable in tracking service coverage and financial risk, but they remain largely outcome- and finance-oriented (World Bank, World Health Organization, 2025), offering limited insight into the institutional, legal, and governance arrangements that shape national UHC trajectories. This absence of legal and governance analysis represents a significant blind spot in health systems research, limiting the ability of governments to design evidence-based, structurally grounded reforms. It is necessary to improve the knowledge of public health authorities regarding the legal determinants of UHC. Strong legal frameworks translate policy into action, support effective health system functions, define the rules for equitable access to health services and provide the means for national governments to implement coverage for all.
METHODS:
This Masterclass introduces the principles and legal foundations of UHC, examining how legal frameworks shape healthcare access. Participants will be able to learn about legal instruments influencing accessibility to essential services by following the presentation and actively discussing the reality of equitable access to healthcare in their own countries.
RESULTS:
By the end of the Masterclass, participants will be equipped with practical tools to analyze national legal frameworks and propose reforms that advance sustainable, rights-based progress toward UHC.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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