The works of the Ministerial Regional Meeting "The Road to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the Eastern-Mediterranean Region (EMR)" will kick off next week in Salalah at Dhofar Governorate.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Health (MOH) organizes the Ministerial Regional Meeting.

High-level officials including ministers of health from 22 EMR countries, undersecretaries and chief technical officials from the ministries of health, members of the parliament from each country, development partners and UN organizations including the World Bank, UNICEF, UNFPA...etc., as well as representatives from civil society organizations, private sectors and academia will attend the meeting.

The meeting, which hosted by the Sultanate of Oman during 3 – 5 September, is one of the most important meetings at the international level, in which it represents the highest guiding authority in the global health system. It will gather senior health leaders, policymakers, national health systems officials in the EMR countries along with local, regional and international participants.

The opening ceremony of the meeting in the first-day will includes high-level addresses, remarks and issues.

The second day of the meeting will cover a number of scientific issues related to the Universal Health Coverage containing the right to health, human capabilities and health justice, macroeconomic policy and health financing for achieving the UHC. In addition to defining and delivering the Universal Health Coverage priority benefit package, addressing the health services for mother & children, non-communicable and communicable diseases in the context of UHC, as well as a high-level discussion on the national experiences in the Eastern-Mediterranean Region.

In the third day, the Meeting will touch on promoting the inclusive national health systems for migrants and host communities, monitoring Universal Health Coverage, a high-level panel discussion on national experiences in advancing towards UHC in the emergency context and another panel discussion on the partnerships for Universal Health Coverage.

In view of the importance of this event, the Ministry of Health has got prepared early and provided the adequate support for the participants in collaboration with the concerned authorities. A main committee with subcommittees and teams that responsible for the organizational, administrative and media issues have been formed.

It is worth mentioning that, the Universal Health Coverage means to ensure that all people obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them. For the countries, in order to achieve the Universal Health Coverage, this requires a strong, efficient, well-run health system that meets priority health needs through people-centered integrated care, as well as a system for financing health services so people do not suffer financial hardship when using them.

The Universal health coverage is a critical component of sustainable development and poverty reduction, and a key element of any effort to reduce social inequities. Universal coverage is the hallmark of a government’s commitment to improve the wellbeing of all its citizens.

The UHC is firmly based on the WHO constitution of 1948 declaring health a fundamental human right and on the Health for All agenda set by the Alma-Ata declaration in 1978. Equity is paramount.