Ahead of the International Day of Universal Health Coverage, the Education and Solidarity Network organized a webinar to discuss Universal Health Coverage and the role of educational communities in this mobilization for #HealthForAll. In the form of an international overview, the webinar offered a space for reflection on the challenges of Universal Health Coverage, and on the mobilisation of educational communities on health issues.
The event takes place on the eve of the International Day of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), 12 December, which marks the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly resolution calling on all nations to ensure access to affordable, quality health care for all people everywhere.
The Covid-19 pandemic reminds us how essential it is to achieve Universal Health Coverage. Today, more than half of the world’s population does not have access to the health services they need, while an estimated 100 million people fall into poverty every year because of the cost of health care.
The Covid-19 crisis also has demonstrated the extent to which health and education are interdependent. All over the world, education stakeholders, on the front line of an unprecedented health and social crisis, continue to organise themselves for the continuity of education, the maintenance of safe and dignified working conditions and the physical and mental health of staff and students
The webinar was centered on the following questions:
– What are the obstacles to the implementation of Universal Health Coverage?
– What are the actions of educational communities and their partners to advocate for #HealthForAll?
– What are the interdependencies between education and health?
After an opening by Matthias SAVIGNAC, President of the Education and Solidarity Network, two representatives of the founding organizations of the ESN introduced the theme of the webinar and presented their perspectives on these topics:
- Thomas KANGA-TONA, from the International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies, presented the objectives and challenges of Universal Health Coverage and the role of mutual benefit societies.
- Duncan SMITH, from Education International (EI), looked at universal health coverage from the perspective of a union, a new EI member, and presented EI’s work on COVID-19.
In the second part, three representatives of the member organizations of the ESN addressed the issue of the interdependence between health and education:
- Augustin TUMBA, from the National Federation of Teachers and Social Educators of Congo (DRC), presented the actions of his union in the fight against Covid and the links between education and health in the DRC.
- Elisa TORRENEGRA, from Gestarsalud (Colombia), presented the educational actions carried out with young people on the subjects of health and solidarity entrepreneurship carried out in Colombia by the association of mutual insurance companies Gestarsalud.
- Luc ALLAIRE, from the Centrale des Syndicats du Québec – CSQ (Canada) presented the results of a survey on the determinants and consequences of burnout in public elementary and secondary schools in Quebec.
Download the powerpoint presentation of the webinar on your right, and find the videos of the interventions on the ESN Youtube page.
This virtual meeting was the starting point for a series of discussions on themes at the crossroads of the worlds of education, health and the social and solidarity economy.
