Point of View: The importance of Leadership towards universal health coverage in Low Income Countries

Universal health coverage-defined as access to the full range of the most appropriate health care and technology for all people at the lowest possible price or with social health protection-was the goal of the 1978 Alma-Ata Conference on Primary Health Care in Kazakhstan. Many low-income (developing) countries are currently unable to reach this goal despite having articulated the same in their health-related documents. In this paper we argue that, over 30 years on, inadequate political and technical leadership has prevented the realization of universal health coverage in low-income countries.