Home Net South East Asia (HNSEA) Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Workshop

Luang Prabang, Laos

This HomeNet South East Asia (HNSEA) workshop was attended by affiliates of HNSEA from Thailand, Laos, Philippines and Indonesia, government health officials from Thailand, Laos and Indonesia, and members of the Laos Federation of Trade Unions and Oxfam representatives. From WIEGO, Laura Alfers and Da Samantrakul attended. The workshop led to a major decision for HNSEA to focus its advocacy efforts on Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Thailand is a world leader in the UHC movement and countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Philippines and Indonesia have joined implementing or commiting to implement UHC. With informal employment accounting for over 60% of non-agricultural employment in most developing regions, the unique needs of informal workers need to be considered when implementing health programmes, as this has significant implications for both the financing and delivery of health services.

This workshop united worker organizations, national health policymakers, other civil society groups and allies in the field of public health to:

• Build awareness and commitment to UHC among affiliates of HomeNet South East Asia in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines and Indonesia;
• Map out the possibilities for alliances/coalitions with other civil society organizations and public health bodies in the region, and nationally within countries;
• Start the process of developing key policy messages on UHC from an informal worker perspective (general messages, country-specific messages and technical messages) and; 
• Develop a workplan and strategy for both national and regional advocacy engagements, including identifying key forums and processes.

Laura Alfers, Director of WIEGO’s Social Protection Programme made a presentation on “Good practices on health & informal workers from the WIEGO Network”

More information

• Read Universal Health Coverage: An Informal Worker Perspective
• Read Four Lessons from Thailand’s Participatory Process in Gaining Universal Health Coverage
• Read World Bank HNP Discussion Paper on; Universal health coverage and the challenge of informal employment: lessons from developing countries
• Learn more about WIEGO’s Social Protection Programme