“I am humbled to be invited by the UN General Assembly President, Csaba KŐRÖSI to moderate a multi-stakeholder panel on ‘Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a driver to accelerate health for all’. The hearing is a great opportunity for relevant stakeholders to contribute to the ongoing preparations for the High-Level Meeting to be hosted at the UN General Assembly in September 2023 with a focus on the current state of efforts and recommended priorities to accelerate response and promote stronger accountability at all levels towards the achievement of UHC by 2030,” said Dr Githinji Gitahi.
The in-person session is scheduled for Tuesday, 9 May 2023. It will also assist in identifying the themes of the multi-stakeholder panels of the High-Level Meeting.
In an invitation letter dated 10 April and signed by the President of the UN General Assembly, Dr Githinji’s experience in UHC has been lauded as a critical contributor to the success of the discussion in preparation to the High-level meeting. “I am pleased to invite you to participate as moderator for the first panel discussion entitled ‘UHC as a driver to accelerate health for all’, said the UN President. “Your experience and advocacy in this field will be an added value and contribute to a fruitful discussion in preparation of the High-level meeting”.
The invitation comes barely a month after Dr Gitahi successfully led a host of ministers, policy makers, civil society leaders, private sector and development partners in launching the UHC Delivery Lab at the African Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) 2023. The aim of the Lab is to resolve challenges faced by different African countries and support them on their journeys to attaining UHC. It will also help countries and institutions to contextualise and action the UHC recommendations by identifying opportunities for collaboration, designing primary health care systems as a foundation of UHC, and bringing critical stakeholders together to discuss the UHC progress in the continent. Such action-oriented initiatives like the Lab and others outlined in UHC2030’s Action Agenda are essential builders ahead of the High-level meeting later in the year.
Prior to AHAIC, Dr Gitahi moderated the first virtual briefing session on the multi-stakeholder hearings on health hosted by The Coalition of Partnerships for UHC and Global Health on 2 March 2023.
Dr Gitahi is the former Co-Chair of the UHC2030 Steering Committee, which is a global World Bank and World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative for UHC. He currently serves as the Co-Chair Strategic Advocacy Committee PMNCH and a member of the Unilever Sustainability Advisory Council, Governing Board of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and prevention (Africa CDC), and a member of the Commission/Taskforce on Africa’s COVID-19, in among other international boards.