EU and World Health Organisation team up to boost access to health services in developing countries

The EU signed a €102 million contribution agreement with the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the European Development Days in Brussels. The EU will invest in building health care systems to provide quality services in more than 80 African, Caribbean, Pacific, and Asian countries.

The “Health Systems Strengthening for Universal Health Coverage Partnership Programme” launched will benefit in a longer term from an EU overall contribution of €118 million out of a total budget of €123 million. The EU contribution will strengthen the WHO cooperation with governments and country stakeholders to build health care systems that provide quality health services to everyone.

Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica said: “With this contribution of €102 million we want to give a real boost to the ambitious goal of Universal Health Coverage for all by 2030. This initiative confirms the leading role of the European Union in putting these universal principles into practice and strengthening our partnership with the World Health Organisation”.

“WHO has no higher priority than universal health coverage,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “It not only improves health, but it also helps to reduce poverty, drive inclusive economic growth and advance gender equality. I thank the European Union for its generous financial support for advancing Universal Health Coverage around the world through the EU-WHO UHC Partnership. I look forward to our continued partnership, and to even greater results.”

The new programme builds upon the existing and highly successful EU flagship programme with the WHO, the ‘UHC Partnership’, which had started in 2011 and has since been joined and co-financed by Luxemburg, Ireland, France, Japan, and recently the United Kingdom and South Korea.

Original source: European Commission
Published on 18 June 2019