US Backs UN Measure for Universal Health Coverage

The UN has drafted a resolution that calls for universal health coverage, and  unsurprisingly, the Obama Administration has backed it wholeheartedly.

There are a host of problems attendant with this action by the U.S. One problem is that according to the UN, member states, civil society and international organizations not only are called upon to support universal health coverage, but to implement the Millenium Development Goals.

What are those goals? They are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

.    It will be amusing to watch how Islamic countries deal with #3.      

.    And what does #7 entail? According to the UN, which praises the Montreal Protocols for conquering the world’s supposed global warming, the 98% reduction in ozone-depleting substances in the last 25 years leaves only hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) to worry about. Thus, the UN warns countries not cooperating with the reduction of HCFCs that they will be targeted with trade sanctions. This puts countries under the thumb of the UN, not a good thing.

Number 8 is also a problem; the UN states that aid dropped in 2011 by 2.7% from 2010. Guess which country is going to pick up the lion’s share of the funds for this Millenium Goal?

There’s always the Left’s ultimate goal: using all means available to strive for economic parity among the populace. And the universal health care coverage they propound does take note of that idea. As Gerard Araud of France said, the strategy was cross-cutting, offering both horizontal and vertical systems that addressed multifaceted challenges.  Implementing universal health coverage also contributed to equity and poverty reduction. 

Mexico’s delegate stated that it was critical for countries to share best practices. Wonder what she means by “share?”

Joan Prince, from the U.S., audaciously asserted that the new Affordable Care Act contained numerous provisions to keep relevant costs low. Low for whom?

The Indonesian delegate insisted that elements of the Oslo Declaration should be incorporated, including making a link between global health and the environment.

The resolution wants member states to “recognize the links between the promotion of universal health coverage and other foreign policy issues, such as the social dimension of globalization, cohesion and stability.” It also wants the universal health coverage to require:

implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action,9 the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development6 and the outcomes of their review conferences,  including the commitments relating to sexual and reproductive health and the promotion and protection of all human rights in this context and emphasizes the need for the provision of universal access to reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.

First of all, why would anything that Beijing had a hand in be applicable toward family planning? We’re talking about a country that forces its citizens to have one child. And second, the Catholic Church and other religious organizations will LOVE that part about universal access to reproductive health.

And how about this? The resolution wants to:

ensure that health financing systems evolve so as to avoid significant direct payments at the point of delivery and include a method for prepayment of financial contributions for health care and services as well as a mechanism to pool risks among the population in order to avoid catastrophic health-care expenditure and impoverishment of individuals as a result of seeking the care needed.

Great. No direct payments, and a pool to draw from. Can this be any more socialist?

For the U.S. to be ruled by the UN in any way is ridiculous. And backing this resolution is one giant step in that direction.