December 12 was Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day. This year’s theme was “Unaffordable health costs? We’re sick of it!’’ This draws attention to a growing frustration with the rising financial burden of healthcare. In observing UHC Day, it is important to distinguish between universal health coverage and universal healthcare. The latter goes beyond coverage for illness alone and encompasses equitable access to comprehensive primary healthcare — preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative. UHC is grounded in the universal human right to health, articulated in several international covenants and reinforced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Alma-Ata Declaration, 1978. However, the WHO’s 2010 World Health Report emphasised financial reform and risk protection as a pathway to UHC