12/01/2026
🩵 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. They create jobs, boost economies, and open the door to new opportunities. Around the world, countries are setting ambitious goals to expand access to health services, and the World Bank Group and global partners are helping to turn those goals into action.
Here are 𝟓 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 about how countries and partners are accelerating progress toward reaching more people with better health services:
1️⃣ 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏.𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥. In April 2024, the World Bank Group announced an ambitious goal: help countries deliver affordable, quality health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030. Since then, good progress has been made:
➤ 375 million people have been reached so far.
➤ Work is ongoing across 45 countries, scaling proven primary care models.
➤ Efforts focus on expanding access and affordability while creating jobs—from health workers to supply chains to supporting local industries.
2️⃣ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬: 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲-𝐋𝐞𝐝, 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬-𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬. Countries are developing five-year, government-endorsed National Health Compacts that align Health and Finance ministries behind measurable reforms. These Compacts focus on improving financial protection and expanding digitally-enabled primary care platforms using proven solutions:
➤ growing the health workforce,
➤ modernizing facilities,
➤ scaling insurance coverage,
➤ using digital tools to improve service delivery,
➤ balancing curative and preventive care to tackle non-communicable diseases.
3️⃣ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐰. The 2025 Global Monitoring Report (GMR) sends a clear message: urgency is rising. 4.6 billion people still lack essential health services. 2.1 billion people face financial hardship due to health expenses. Despite two decades of improvement, progress has slowed. The global effort underway aims to restore momentum, align partners, and accelerate reforms that work at scale.
4️⃣ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. This alignment allows countries to invest, reform, and scale improvements faster and more effectively. To help countries implement their Compacts, partners are coordinating financing and technical support:
➤ The World Bank Group, Gavi, and The Global Fund have announced new partnerships, including $2 billion co-financing with each organization.
➤ Philanthropic partners are mobilizing up to $410 million - channeled through the Global Financing Facility and the Health System Transformation and Resilience Fund.
➤ Technical assistance will be provided by Japan, the United Kingdom, and other global partners.
➤ Seed Global Health is supporting Compact countries through workforce assessments and development initiatives.
5️⃣ 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐛 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Transforming health systems requires strong collaboration between health and finance ministries. To support this, a new Universal Health Coverage Knowledge Hub has been launched in Tokyo—hosted by Japan, the World Bank Group, and WHO. The Hub provides capacity-building, policy support and knowledge exchange on health financing, equity, and system effectiveness. The first cohort countries include: Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
