Since the recommendations of Ise-Shima G7 Summit in May 2016 and TICAD VI in August 2016, and the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Forum held in Tokyo in December 2017, the PHRD UHC Window has contributed to accelerating the progress towards UHC by 2030 and enabled countries to share and learn practical lessons on accelerating UHC progress.
The Development Objective of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Window is to contribute to accelerating the progress towards UHC, and Health Security as core components of the Tokyo Joint UHC Initiative in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) by providing analytical and advisory services, as well as technical assistance (TA) and capacity building support in critical areas.
PHRD Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Window – Country Program
Background: Expanding Knowledge to Promote Access to Universal Health Coverage for All
Drawing from its extensive experience in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Japanese government has, for decades, prioritized global health in its international diplomacy. 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Japan’s achievement of universal health coverage (UHC). To commemorate this, the Government of Japan (GoJ) and the WBG jointly carried out a multi-country study to share varied experiences from countries at different stages of adopting and implementing strategies for UHC, including Japan itself. These studies have been synthesized into a publication titled, “Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: A Synthesis of 11 Country Case Studies.” In addition, the initiative resulted in an in-depth report on Japan’s experience entitled “Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Lessons from Japan.” Findings from these studies have provided valuable insights to the WBG to respond to the growing demand from low- and middle-income countries who have wanted to design their own strategies which will fit to their local contexts to achieve UHC.
At the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Ise-Shima, Japan in May 2016, Japan led the declaration on the “Vision for Global Health” that articulated the commitment of G7 leaders to take concrete actions to advance global health, emphasizing that health is the foundation of economic prosperity and security.
Strategic Objectives: The PHRD UHC program was established in 2016 to build on the recommendations of the Ise-Shima G7 Summit to promote UHC in developing countries; and incorporate the findings of the GoJ-WBG joint studies which were conducted in 2011-2013. The program aims to provide analytical and advisory support to help low- and middle-income countries that have strong potential to improve policies and promote UHC to develop and implement strategies and capacities to adopt, achieve, and maintain UHC. Attaining the goal of UHC requires countries to invest resources in pandemic preparedness (disease surveillance and response capacity) and bolster their health systems. The PHRD UHC has assisted governments to develop and implement pandemic preparedness plans through the provision of advisory and capacity building services, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Country Program Grant Structure:
- Priority Area I: Policy and Institutional Analysis and Advisory services (ASA-Bank Executed Trust Fund)
- Priority Area II: Institutional Capacity Building and Implementation Support to strengthen the institutional capacity to implement strategies and policies in the area of UHC and health security (Recipient Executed Trust Fund)
Technical Areas Supported:
(i) Health financing
(ii) Human resources for health
(iii) Breakthrough innovations and disruptive technology
(iv) Harnessing private sector engagement
(v) Ageing and Long-Term Care
(vi) Climate-Health Nexus/Disaster Risk Management
*For the Phase 3 Round 3 in 2023 onwards, support for the technical areas of Pandemic Preparedness and COVID-19 response was discontinued due to the availability of other funding resources for these technical areas. Aligned with emerging needs new technical areas including Ageing and Long-Term Care, and Climate, Disasters Risk Management and Health, were added.
PHRD UHC Country Program Phase I-III
The PHRD UHC Phases I and II portfolio comprised 32 grants amounting to $18.6 million. Thus far the PHRD UHC Phase III comprises 51 approved grants amounting to $29.0 million. The average size of the ASA grants is $0.58 million for Phase I and II and has increased to $0.56 million for Phase III. Forty-five (or 54%) of the grants have closed. Nineteen grants are currently under implementation and expected to close by June 30, 2026.
Last Updated: Aug 30, 2024