Nine months after we first heard about COVID-19, the pandemic has killed more than a million people and infected more than 30 million people in 190 countries.
The number of infections continues to rise and there are worrying signs of new waves of infection.
Much of the data related to the virus is still unknown. But the basic, obvious fact is that the world has not been prepared for a pandemic.
The pandemic has revealed gross health system shortcomings, wide gaps in social protection, and major structural inequalities within and between countries.
We must all learn hard lessons from this crisis.
This huge gap in health coverage is one of the reasons behind so much pain and suffering caused by the pandemic.
The pandemic costs the global economy $375 billion a month. So far, about 500 million jobs have been lost. Human development is moving in the opposite direction for the first time since we began measuring its indicators in 1990.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that universal health coverage, robust public health systems, and emergency preparedness are essential for communities, economies, and all people.
This is the background to the policy brief that we are announcing today.
At least half of the world's population does not have access to the health services they need. About 100 million people fall into poverty each year due to the exorbitant costs of health care.
This huge gap in health coverage is one of the reasons behind so much pain and suffering caused by the pandemic.
Universal health coverage requires governments to invest more in health-related public goods, including monitoring and risk notification, so that the world never faces a situation like this again.
It also requires that public health programs be equitable, inclusive, and free from financial barriers. Health treatment should not depend on the current finances.
All countries agreed to work towards achieving universal health coverage as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
But we can't wait 10 years. We need universal health coverage now, including mental health coverage, to bolster pandemic efforts and prepare for future crises.
This is just one of the five main recommendations contained in this policy brief.
The second recommendation is to reduce the increase in transmission of Covid-19 infection through proven public health measures and to take globally coordinated measures to confront the disease.
The third recommendation relates to protecting the provision of other health services during a pandemic. Covid-19 disease indirectly kills people who suffer from heart disease and cancer, as well as people who become infected with it. People's access to mental health services and sexual and reproductive health programs cannot be compromised.
The fourth, it is to ensure that everyone, everywhere, has access to the vaccines, tests, and treatments that will be prepared to confront the Covid-19 disease. Funding the COVID-19 Accelerator is the fastest way to end the pandemic.
The fifth recommendation relates to our duty to strengthen preparedness measures. This means involving all sectors of society and investing in the alert systems upon which health authorities act to take the necessary action.
Pandemic preparedness and response are global public goods that require significant investment.
And if UHC is expensive, it is cheap when we see the consequences of choosing the opposite.
I urge everyone to act now to accelerate and increase investment in universal health coverage and in strengthening health system structures.