Gov’t: Macau achieves universal health coverage

Macau has achieved the universal health coverage (UHC) target, Chou Mei Fong, head of Hac Sa Wan Health Centre, has said.

UHC, as raised by the World Health Organization (WHO), means that all people can access a full range of quality health services they need whenever and wherever they are without financial hardship.

According to Chou, the child health outpatient consultation service served 54,000 people last year, while the numbers for adult health and prenatal care were 330,000 and 21,000, respectively. The women’s health outpatient consultation service has served 43,000 people and provided cervical cancer screening for over 11,000 women. She said that as the community healthcare service has expanded, the usage of special medical services and the rate of hospitalization has decreased.

With the biggest service volume among all health centers and stations, Hac Sac Wan health center has served 149,800 people in outpatient consultations last year. The number of registrations at the health center is over 158,900.

To actively respond to the goal of “health for all’ in the Alma-Ata Declaration (1978), the Health Bureau established the principle that each health facility should cover 50,000 to 70,000 people, and should be accessible via a 15- to 20-minute walk. The government has undertaken substantial work on community healthcare and disease prevention during the past 30 years, said Chou. Staff Reporter