Podcast
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the progress countries across East Asia and the Pacific have made to advance universal health coverage (UHC). A recent episode of the Contain This podcast, produced by Australia¡¯s Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security, looked at the commitments, challenges and progress to UHC in the region.
Jane Pepperall, Senior Health Advisor for Australia¡¯s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spoke with Dr Toomas Palu, adviser on global coordination at the World Bank's Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice; Dr Aparnaa Somanathan, practice manager for Health, Nutrition and Population for the East Asia Pacific region; Dr Wayne Irava, World Bank health specialist based in Solomon Islands; and Chindavanh Vongsaly, World Bank health specialist based in Vientiane, Laos PDR.
The discussion covered the intersection between global health security and UHC, and how the Advance UHC Multi-Donor Trust Fund is helping strengthen health systems and support innovative ways of progressing UHC.