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We are pleased to announce that Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd. (Headquartered in Tokyo, President: Satoshi Murabayashi, also “MURC”) and the Centre for Universal Health, Chatham House (Headquartered in London, Director: Robert Yates) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU aims to mark the two organizations’ commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Universal Health Coverage (UHC), through research and policy recommendations.

1.Background

UHC means that every individual receives the health services they need – from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care – without suffering from financial difficulties, and it is the utmost important agenda in global health in recent years^*1. SDG 3, “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages”, also refers to UHC^*2, as UHC is necessary to allow all human beings to enjoy healthy lives.
The MURC’s Center on Global Health Architecture addresses global health issues aiming at UHC through promoting digital technologies and enhancing partnerships with multi-stakeholders. The Chatham House Centre for Universal Health launched in January 2020 tackles issues in global health, specializing in research and informing policymaking in the field of UHC through a multi-sectoral approach.
This MoU aims to achieve UHC in low- and middle-income countries through collaborative activities as follows;

• To address issues regarding the political economy of health and health sector reforms
• To provide advice to political leaders on UHC reforms
• To develop evidence-based policy options
• To improve access to health services
• To promote digital health technologies
• To amplify planetary health
• To support sustainable health care systems for aging societies
• To focus on the social determinants of better health and wellbeing, for instance, preventing chronic diseases, addressing substance abuse, protection from pollution and climate change, and promoting mental health and wellbeing
• To combat antimicrobial resistance

The parties, as neutral agencies, will cooperate with each other regarding policy recommendations, stakeholder engagement, agenda-setting to encourage future-oriented discussions on global health.

*1 World Health Organization (2019) Universal Health Coverage. Available at
https://www.who.int/health-topics/universal-health-coverage#tab=tab_1 (Accessed on 16 January 8, 2020).

*2 World Health Organization (2019) SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Available at
https://www.who.int/sdg/targets/en/ (Accessed on 16 January 8, 2020).

2.Outlines of the two organizations

■ The Centre for Universal Health, Chatham House
Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs in the UK) is a world-leading policy institute based in London. Its mission is to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world. The Centre for Universal Health sits within the Global Health Programme at Chatham House’s. It officially launches in 2020, as an evolution of the Centre on Global Health Security, which was established in 2010 with leading global health security expert David L. Heymann at its helm. The succession of Robert Yates, a leading authority on the political economy of Universal Health Coverage, brings a shift in focus and a rebranding of the Centre.
（Website）
https://www.chathamhouse.org/research/themes/global-health
https://www.chathamhouse.org/about/structure/global-health-security
（Twitter）
@CHGlobalHealth

■ Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd.
MURC is a think tank and consulting firm within Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). It has offices in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, and drives a variety of projects including consultancy services for firms, policy research for national and local governments, management information services, human resource development, and economic research.
The Secretariat of this MoU is MURC’s Center on Global Health Architecture, an organization striving to solve global health issues.
（Website）
https://www.digitalsociety.murc.jp/globalhealth/architecture/index.html
（Facebook）
https://www.facebook.com/cgha.murc/
（Linkedin）
https://www.linkedin.com/company/25078975/

For more information

Center on Global Health Architecture, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, Co., Ltd.
5-11-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8501, Japan
E-mail：ath-ch@murc.jp
Contact Persons：Michikazu Koshiba and Junko Makinouchi

Media contacts

Corporate Communications Dept, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, Co., Ltd.
TEL：03-6733-1005
E-mail：info@murc.jp