HelpAge attended the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at the United Nations, New York.

UHC is essential for ensuring all people, everywhere, can access quality health and care services with financial protection. At the meeting and in the months leading up to it, we have heard countless examples of how affordable, accessible, quality health and care services unlock people’s potential and how UHC is therefore one of the smartest investments countries can make.

Older people face specific barriers to accessing health and care services. Often the lack of accessibility to services or the high cost of medicines for conditions that are common in older age prevent older people from receiving treatment. Other barriers include the lack of training amongst health workers on challenges that are common in older age, and ageist attitudes that exclude older people from services and deny their right to health.

Glandford, An older person in Jamaica told us, “Some of us have done a lot for society and yet we are not getting anything back. Instead, we are abused at health centres and some of the doctors don’t give us the service they should. We need better quality healthcare all round, both the medication and the service.”

In recent months, the HelpAge network and partner organisations have been campaigning to ensure heads of state commit to UHC and to older people’s inclusion in efforts to achieve it. We are very pleased that, thanks to our joint efforts, the Political Declaration adopted at the meeting contains the strong commitments related to older people that we campaigned for!

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