The WHO and World Bank's 2025 report states that since 2000, the global Service Coverage Index (SCI) has increased from 54 to 71 points (2000-2023). [1][2] The proportion of people experiencing financial hardship due to large and impoverishing out-of-pocket (OOP) payments has fallen from 34% in 2000 to 26% in 2022.[1][2] Despite this, an estimated 4.6 billion people still lack access to essential health services and 2.1 billion people experience financial hardship in accessing health care, with 1.6 billion people living in or falling into poverty as a result of health care spending. [1][4] The report notes that medicines are a major cause of financial hardship - in three-quarters of countries, medicines account for at least 55% of health care spending, and for people in poverty, they account for an average of 60% of their health care spending. [1][2] The pace of progress has slowed since 2015; if current trends remain unchanged, the global SCI will reach only 74 points in 2030 and around 24% of the population will still face financial hardship. [2][4] The report also finds that inequalities persist: in 2022, three out of four people in the poorest quintile faced financial hardship, compared to less than 1 in 25 among the richest.[1][4] To achieve the UHC goal by 2030, the report recommends six priorities, including free primary care for the poor, increased