illness without requiring payment by citizens, thus helping to reduce the risk of poverty and of social inequality. Also, people in good health are more likely to find work and will be more employable. Therefore, from the economic and production points of view, investment in health has important positive effects. Increased productivity and a larger workforce resulting from a smaller burden created by illness may be the direct result of applying universal health care systems. But the effect is even more direct when measured in terms of employment and economic activity in the health care sector itself. Health care is therefore a key instrument for individual and collective wellbeing. Universal health care coverage is a challenge that has not yet been met in many countries, not even for essential services at national level as identified in the Recommendation on social protection floors. Availability (the existence of goods, services and programmes), accessibility (access without discrimination in each state), acceptability (services that respect medical ethics and individual culture) and quality (services that are appropriate from the scientific point of view) should be key components of the essential services considered in social protection floors. Over the last two decades, important progress has been made in health care worldwide, with the extension of care to women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, and with immunisation and care for children aged under five, among others. This has led to much greater life expectancy. Yet there are still great inequalities among countries, which can often be directly attributed to the scope of health care coverage which, in turn, largely depends on the country’s economic development. UNION One of the most important achievements of societies in the European Union is precisely that they have achieved high life expectancy, among the highest in the world (Table 4), although there are still significant differences within the Union which can clearly be attributed to different income levels. However, one of the consequences of longer life expectancy, and of low fertility, is ageing of the population which has become one of the main demographic features. Regarding morbidity in the European area, there is a clear preponderance of chronic pathologies associated with ageing, as opposed to the acute nature of infectious diseases. Success in dealing with the latter has given rise to health care models that focus more on treating long-term disorders and diseases, including systems for holistic care for the elderly.
illness without requiring payment by citizens, thus helping to reduce the risk of poverty and of social inequality. Also, people in good health are more likely to find work and will be more employable. Therefore, from the economic and production points of view, investment in health has important positive effects. Increased productivity and a larger workforce resulting from a smaller burden created by illness may be the direct result of applying universal health care systems. But the effect is even more direct when measured in terms of employment and economic activity in the health care sector itself. Health care is therefore a key instrument for individual and collective wellbeing. Universal health care coverage is a challenge that has not yet been met in many countries, not even for essential services at national level as identified in the Recommendation on social protection floors. Availability (the existence of goods, services and programmes), accessibility (access without discrimination in each state), acceptability (services that respect medical ethics and individual culture) and quality (services that are appropriate from the scientific point of view) should be key components of the essential services considered in social protection floors. Over the last two decades, important progress has been made in health care worldwide, with the extension of care to women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, and with immunisation and care for children aged under five, among others. This has led to much greater life expectancy. Yet there are still great inequalities among countries, which can often be directly attributed to the scope of health care coverage which, in turn, largely depends on the country’s economic development. One of the most important achievements of societies in the European Union is precisely that they have achieved high life expectancy, among the highest in the world (Table 4), although there are still significant differences within the Union which can clearly be attributed to different income levels. However, one of the consequences of longer life expectancy, and of low fertility, is ageing of the population which has become one of the main demographic features. Regarding morbidity in the European area, there is a clear preponderance of chronic pathologies associated with ageing, as opposed to the acute nature of infectious diseases. Success in dealing with the latter has given rise to health care models that focus more on treating long-term disorders and diseases, including systems for holistic care for the elderly. UNION