Universal health coverage for the poorest billion: justice and equity considerations

Abstract

The Lancet NCDI Poverty Commission report by Gene Bukhman and colleagues makes a compelling case that the needs of people affected by non-communicable disease and injury (NCDI), and poverty have been largely neglected. The Commission report lays out crucial evidence and health sector interventions, and calls for increased solidarity and development assistance to redress these health inequities. However, what will it take to convince global actors and national governments to act on this issue?

We believe that the call for solidarity offers an opportunity to also tackle the underlying structural determinants that cause and perpetuate poverty. These structural determinants facilitate the neoliberal world order, including international corporate tax avoidance, the accumulation of extreme wealth, and macroeconomic policy making that reduces government revenue and shrinks policy space.