The annual Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting will gather officials from 53 countries in Geneva, Switzerland on 19 May, to discuss how to accelerate universal health coverage (UHC) in their countries, ensuring no one is left behind.
The annual Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting will gather officials from 53 countries in Geneva, Switzerland on 19 May, to discuss how to accelerate universal health coverage (UHC) in their countries.
The theme of the meeting, “Universal Health Coverage: Reaching the unreached, ensuring no one is left behind”, emphasises the importance of UHC as a means of securing a more sustainable future for Commonwealth citizens.
This entails the inclusion of women, young people, adolescents and other vulnerable populations, such as those with mental health challenges or disabilities, not only as recipients of health services, but also as sources of innovative solutions and equal partners in service delivery.
The objectives of the Commonwealth Health Ministers meeting include:
- To provide member countries with an opportunity to share experience and lessons in relation to unreached populations in the Commonwealth, regionally and nationally, and how to best reach these populations;
- To provide an opportunity to build consensus on collective and national actions, agree commitments and make recommendations to ensure the identified unreached populations are not left behind in the socio-economic and human development agenda;
- To discuss updates and reports from the commitments and recommendations considered at the 2018 ministerial meeting and previous meetings;
- To contribute to the collective Commonwealth perspective on these issues and other matters, which will be articulated at diverse international fora, including the 72nd World Health Assembly, 12th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting and UN High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage.
The meeting will be chaired by Fiji’s Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete.
Document
Final Ministerial Statement 2019.pdf
(223.51 KB)
Read the Ministerial Statement
Document
2019-CHMM-WHAStatement.pdf
(125.89 KB)
Commonwealth statement at the World Health Assembly
Video Highlights
Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete, Minister of Health and Medical Services, Fiji
Fiji Minister of Health landscape
Robert Yates, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House
Latest News
Image
Health ministers focus on the needs of the most vulnerable
At the annual Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting in Geneva on Sunday, ministers discussed the need to prioritise women, youth, people with disabilities and vulnerable groups, in their ongoing push towards universal health coverage. MORE
Image
Ministers rally behind universal health coverage
Commonwealth ministers of health will meet this Sunday, 19 May in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss how to accelerate universal health coverage (UHC) in their countries, in order to safeguard vulnerable populations. MORE
