On 21 September 2023, H.E. Mr. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (DPM/FM), attended the High-level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage during the High-level Week of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The meeting brought together leaders and high-level representatives of Member States, observers of the UNGA and the UN system, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and the private sector to undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation of the 2019 Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to identify gaps and solutions to accelerate progress towards the achievement of UHC by 2030.

DPM/FM underlined the importance of UHC as a cornerstone of Thailand’s national health policy and international development cooperation. He also shared lessons that Thailand has learned from its over two-decade journey of implementing UHC as follows:

(1) It is vital to engage people in UHC-related decision-making processes. Public opinion can shape UHC in the way that is relevant to people’s needs and responsive to new challenges, such as changing disease patterns and aging society.

(2) UHC must go hand in hand with disease prevention, as well as health and well-being promotion, due to the fact that preventive measures are a cost-effective investment for promoting healthy lifestyles and mitigating health risks.

(3) Social innovations can lead to innovative solutions in UHC, such as the possible involvement of private-run health facilities under UHC, and the use of big data on disease prevalence and treatment outcomes for health literacy purposes.

(4) It is necessary to adapt UHC to new trends, using digital health under UHC to improve efficiency of services and health equity.

In addition, PM emphasised that Thailand would continue its investment in UHC, especially through a “Universal Coverage Scheme-plus”, by further expanding benefits package, including on health promotion and palliative care, as well as promoting more efficiency and convenience of health services provided at all levels.

Furthermore, DPM/FM also urged the meeting to renew its commitment to UHC while prioritizing it as part of a new ‘pandemic treaty’ under the World Health Organization, and reform of the global health architecture for more equity and inclusivity. Meanwhile, the meeting approved a new Political Declaration on UHC, which will complement the 2019 Political Declaration and be submitted to the UNGA for further adoption.