3
A healthier future in sight
By Katsunobu Kato, former minister of health, labour and welfare, Japan
T he world is moving towards a post–Covid-19 era. On 5 May 2023, the World Health Organization declared the end of the ‘public health emergency of international concern’, and Japan updated the status of Covid-19 to the same level as seasonal influenza. The lessons learned from the pandemic over the past three years remind us of the need to strengthen prevention, preparedness and response – PPR – for health emergencies, and of the importance of achieving universal health coverage, which forms the basis for public health and pandemic PPR in normal times and in emergencies. Japan hosted the G7 health ministers under its 2023 G7 presidency in Nagasaki on 13–14 May. G7 members and outreach countries discussed global health collaboration in the post-Covid era under the theme of Working Together for a Healthier Future. The meeting focused on three agendas: strengthening the global health architecture for PPR for future emergencies; contributing to achieving more resilient, equitable and sustainable universal health coverage through strengthening health systems; and promoting health innovation. Ministers endorsed the G7 Global Plan for UHC Action Agenda. This is a compilation of actions by G7 members to contribute to achieving universal health coverage all over the world, as well as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Japan, among the first to establish a universal health insurance system, has been leading the global discussion on universal health coverage. However, while we have been responding to the Covid-19
This year’s G7 health ministers’ meeting marked a meaningful opportunity for the G7 to show its common direction in the post-Covid era – and for Japan to commit to ensuring that universal health coverage is achieved worldwide by 2030, the target year to achieve it and the next time Japan assumes the G7 presidency
24
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online