To accelerate evidence informed, equitable and sustainable action towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Bangladesh and globally, a Centre of Excellence on Universal Health Coverage (Centre) based at the James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) has been established with generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation.

The Centre will serve both as a national and global catalyst for evidence informed policy and practice and the development of country-based cadres necessary to implement UHC. The Centre will also work with a broad coalition of partners within Bangladesh and internationally on advancing practical efforts to accelerate Universal Health Coverage.

The Centre will contribute three critical ingredients to the broader agenda that fit with its comparative advantages of being an academic institution nested in a world-renowned, entrepreneurial NGO, BRAC, and working in close partnership with a premiere international research centre, ICDDR,B. These ingredients include:

• essential evidence necessary to guide the design of UHC policies and programs and to monitor and evaluate their implementation;
• core competencies for effective policy and practice towards UHC acquired through on-the-job and pre-service training;
• a UHC Forum providing key stakeholders with a continuous opportunity for reporting and learning on best practices for UHC.

The Centre will act as a co-secretariat for the Global Task Force on UHC ensuring strong Southern leadership and facilitating a synergistic interface between the work in Bangladesh and efforts towards UHC regionally and globally.

Please visit UHC website: http://www.coe-uhc.org/