Universal Health Coverage: INTERSOS Commitment
Over half of the world’s population—4.5 billion people—currently lack access to essential health services despite global political commitments to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
Universal health coverage represents a commitment to ensure that everyone, everywhere, can readily access the health services they need without facing financial hardship. It encompasses a wide range of interventions, from prevention, such as vaccinations and health education, to promoting healthier lifestyles. It also includes curative services for treating diseases, rehabilitation interventions to promote recovery and, finally, palliative care to improve the quality of life in the most delicate phases.
In concrete terms, the lack of access to essential health services means that billions of people cannot receive basic vaccinations, treatments for curable diseases, or support during health emergencies. Mothers do not have adequate assistance during pregnancy and childbirth, children do not receive essential care to prevent deadly diseases or cope with malnutrition, and those suffering from chronic or terminal conditions do not have access to therapies or palliative care. This gap creates profound inequalities: already vulnerable families are forced to choose between seeking treatment and meeting basic needs such as food or education.
Achieving universal health coverage, therefore, means investing in strong and inclusive health systems capable of responding to the needs of all, with particular attention to the most disadvantaged communities, eliminating economic and geographical barriers to guarantee the fundamental right to health. Access to care, in addition to being a universal human right, is the prerequisite for the birth of more resilient, productive, peaceful and prosperous communities.
With our projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, we have been committed for years to promoting universal health coverage, guaranteeing access to free and quality care as well as essential medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics, and supporting and strengthening existing health systems without upsetting them.
We prioritize the most vulnerable people, especially children under 5, women of reproductive age, people with disabilities and the elderly, and we guarantee access to primary health care to populations affected by crises, such as internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees, migrants and vulnerable host communities. We involve the affected communities in every phase of our health interventions, from program assessment and design to implementation to monitoring.
Contexts of intervention
In areas where access to care is particularly complex, such as isolated or difficult-to-reach areas or in contexts of conflict and poverty, several factors hinder access to health services. The limited number of health facilities, logistical difficulties related to transport, the shortage of qualified personnel and the scarcity of resources make it difficult for people to obtain the care they need. Social determinants such as poverty, limited access to education, discrimination and gender inequalities further exacerbate these challenges.
INTERSOS addresses these challenges by operating on the ground, coordinating with local health systems and strengthening their capacities. With our mobile teams, we provide health care in contexts where services are insufficient, we rehabilitate existing clinics and health centres, we ensure continuous training for local health personnel, and we guarantee the supply of essential medicines and medical products. Furthermore, we collaborate with local communities to promote health education, reducing social and cultural barriers that hinder access to care. This integrated approach not only improves access to health services but also contributes to strengthening community resilience, enhancing their ability to address health challenges sustainably in the long term.
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, home to approximately 38 million people, a significant portion of its population lives in remote, culturally diverse, and hard-to-reach areas. This part of the country is increasingly vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance, particularly in the health and nutrition sectors. 13.2 million people in 34 provinces reside in areas where primary health care services are inaccessible within an hour’s walk. In Afghanistan, INTERSOS intervenes in extremely isolated areas, where most of the population has to drive for two or three hours on dangerous roads just to reach the nearest health centre. In 2024, we opened two new health facilities in the remote areas of Uruzgan province. Here, we provide health, nutrition and protection services to the communities in these areas.
Venezuela
Access to health in Venezuela is limited. Few medical facilities exist, and they are often unreachable for most of the local population due to the long distances and the lack of public transport. INTERSOS has been intervening on this front for over two years, bringing medical care and legal support where they are lacking. Our teams move around the territory to guarantee health care and protection for migrants and local rural communities.
Sexual and reproductive health
Sexual and reproductive health problems are the leading cause of death worldwide for women of childbearing age. Global progress in reducing maternal and child mortality has stalled since 2016. Every year, 287,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth, 1.9 million children die before birth, and 4.9 million children die before the age of 5. Most of these deaths are linked to preventable or treatable conditions and can be largely avoided by ensuring access to pre-and post-natal care and deliveries assisted by qualified staff. Most maternal deaths are caused by severe bleeding, hypertension, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and pre-existing conditions that can be easily identified and treated with adequate sexual and reproductive health services. Childbirth problems are not the only risk associated with limited access to sexual and reproductive health services. Women living in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and to sexual and gender-based violence.
These problems are even more acute for groups of already marginalized women, such as refugees, displaced persons, migrants and sex workers, who face additional difficulties in accessing adequate care, protection and support.
Improved access to health services for children can significantly reduce child mortality and morbidity , preventing and treating diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and birth-related complications, which are the leading causes of child death. Thanks to adequate neonatal care, vaccinations, proper nutrition, appropriate hygiene practices, and timely access to pediatric medicines, children’s health can be significantly improved.
In the countries where we operate, we work to reduce the rate of disease spread and maternal and neonatal mortality, increasing community awareness and preventive measures relating to women’s and child health and contributing to improving the services dedicated to sexual health and reproductive health offered in health facilities.
Burkina Faso
The ongoing crisis in Burkina Faso has compromised the health system and exacerbated the food crisis, causing a high number of cases of malnutrition in children and pregnant and lactating women. Furthermore, in the country, the maternal and child mortality rate is very high, with 264 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births. However, these data are easily underestimated, as many births take place in villages, especially in rural areas, where not all cases of maternal and neonatal death that occur are recorded.
In the eastern region of Burkina Faso, INTERSOS guarantees free medical and nutritional care for children and pregnant and lactating women. Here, in several areas, it is impossible to access health facilities during the night or afternoon because they are closed, operate for a few hours, or are located in areas under curfew due to ongoing conflict. Women, therefore, often find themselves forced to give birth in their own homes without a minimum of assistance. For this reason, INTERSOS collaborates with traditional midwives, providing them with continuous training and equipment to ensure good hygienic conditions during childbirth in hard-to-reach areas. In safe areas, on the other hand, traditional midwives play a fundamental role in raising awareness among community members about the importance of giving birth in health centres with qualified personnel and accessing prenatal and postnatal visit services.
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the incidence of childbirth deaths is among the highest in the world. According to UNICEF data, for every 100,000 births, 638 mothers die during childbirth. The country is grappling with a severe shortage of qualified midwives with a healthcare system lacking resources and with poor infrastructure, especially in rural and underserved areas. In many of the remote areas of Afghanistan, difficulties in accessing health facilities, combined with cultural beliefs and lack of health education, lead to harrowing tragedies for families during pregnancy, childbirth and in the first days of a child’s life. In INTERSOS health centres, childbirth assistance services are active 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and dedicated staff also provide postpartum services, where families learn essential skills such as breastfeeding, receive a schedule for vaccinations for their children and kits for postpartum and for the care of their newborns. These health facilities not only provide essential health services but also contribute to changing behaviours, building trust and teaching communities the importance of taking care of their health and the well-being of their loved ones.
Children
Currently, around half a billion children live in a conflict zone, and 40% of displaced people worldwide are children. In crisis contexts, it is estimated that the rates of spread of diseases and mortality in children under the age of 5 are up to twenty times higher than those of children living in more stable contexts.
In the world, 1 in 4 children under the age of 5 – or over 180 million – lives in conditions of severe poverty. Of these, almost two million children are affected by severe acute malnutrition, and the levels of chronic malnutrition in children are high, especially in countries experiencing conflicts, often aggravated by economic shocks and climate crises.
INTERSOS works in crisis contexts to ensure access to essential health care for children, especially those under 5, including malnutrition treatments, vaccinations, and emergency health care. Our approach aims to reduce the spread of diseases and infant mortality, seeking to improve children’s health conditions and ensure free access to basic care. This is achieved through training health personnel on pediatric protocols, procuring essential pediatric medicines and nutritional supplements, and creating outpatient and hospital nutritional units. Furthermore, facilitated circuits are established to allow rapid access to health centres and, when necessary, to hospitals. INTERSOS also focuses on the direct involvement of communities, raising awareness and providing essential information to families and caregivers on crucial issues such as hygiene, vaccinations, and nutrition to improve children’s health directly and sustainably.
Nigeria
Borno State, Nigeria, has the highest rates of hospitalization of children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and with clinical complications such as intestinal and respiratory infections. In the northeast and northwest of the country, there are almost 5.4 million children aged 0 to 5 who are hungry; of these, almost 1.8 million are in the stage of severe acute malnutrition. In Maiduguri, for years, INTERSOS has been treating malnourished children in the only malnutrition treatment centre in the area.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world and, due to the ongoing security crisis in the country, is experiencing a further decline in its two main livelihoods: agriculture and livestock. This means that the rates of malnutrition in the country are extremely high. According to the 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview, 55% of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the country are children.
In the eastern region of Burkina Faso, INTERSOS trains staff from various health and social promotion centres to improve the capacity of facilities to diagnose and treat childhood diseases. We also support health and social promotion centres in managing cases of moderate acute and severe acute malnutrition, providing medicines not available in the centres, such as antibiotics, dewormers and antimalarials. In cases of severe acute malnutrition with complications that require transfer to the Fada Hospital’s Nutritional Recovery and Education Center, INTERSOS undertakes to cover the costs of unavailable medicines and any transfusions.