Universal Health Coverage speaks to the global goal of providing all people with the health care they need without creating undue financial burdens on the individual. In many parts of the world, health provision and access to health services remains extremely poor, particularly for criminalised and marginalised populations such as sex workers and other key populations. An important opportunity exists now to not only push national governments to involve sex workers in their development of UHC “care packages”, but also to proactively reform the criminal law to ensure that health care services for all will be a reality by 2030.
This Briefing Paper examines the implications of UHC for sex workers specifically. Drawing on an exploration of sex workers’ current experiences with UHC at country-level, the paper highlights some of the consequences of being side-lined at the planning stages of UHC and the continued challenges sex workers face accessing health services. It concludes with recommendations on how to strategically engage with UHC processes and structures to ensure that sex workers are not left behind.
You can download this briefing paper above in English, and it is also available in French, Russian, Spanish and Chinese. A Community Guide is also available.