TY - JOUR T1 - Redefining universal health coverage in the age of global health security JF - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000255 VL - 2 IS - 2 SP - e000255 AU - Vageesh Jain AU - Azeem Alam Y1 - 2017/03/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000255.abstract N2 - Summary boxRedefining the scope of universal health coverage (UHC) can provide benefits for global health security.UHC may affect how a country is able to prevent, detect or respond to an infectious disease outbreak, but its impact is difficult to measure and depends greatly on the definition of UHC.Future initiatives to move towards UHC must include methods of measuring the national availability, quality and distribution of public health services, particularly epidemiological surveillance, and research and development to further integrate global health security and health system strengthening.Universal health coverage (UHC) has received a great deal of attention over the past decade, with the WHO spearheading the global advocacy effort. Studies have demonstrated the ability of UHC to reduce mortality, and overcome existing health inequalities to create more equitable systems.1 ,2However, the role of UHC in preventing, detecting and responding to disease outbreaks as per International Health Regulations (IHR), particularly during public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), is less clear. Past epidemics, including Ebola or H1N1 influenza, have not provided the opportunity to assess the impact that UHC may have on global health security. In the Ebola outbreak, the virus was largely limited to the West African region, among countries that all had poorly functioning health systems. The H1N1 virus proved to be too feeble to allow an analysis of how resilient different health systems were (based on UHC), in combating the 2009 pandemic.UHC, in its existing form, has the potential to improve global health security through various mechanisms. First, low financial barriers can stimulate demand for health services and facilitate early case detection,3 one of the foremost factors in dictating the course of an outbreak. Second, UHC may protect people from financial catastrophe. High healthcare expenditures push people into poverty, further increasing their long-term … ER -