The United Nations has passed a landmark resolution that secures a permanent global platform for cooperatives.
The UN General Assembly has officially called for the proclamation of an International Year of Cooperatives every 10 years following the 2025 celebration. This ensures a recurring global commitment to leveraging the cooperative enterprise model for social and economic progress.
For the health sector, this is a profound recognition. Put simply, there is no social development without health.
The resolution highlights how cooperatives are essential to the future of healthcare, providing a clear roadmap for governments to:
- Integrate cooperatives into national health strategies, providing targeted budgetary support to scale up their capacity and recognising them as formal, vital actors in national health systems.
- Strengthen social protection and Universal Health Coverage (UHC), identifying the cooperative model as a direct contributor to achieving SDG 3 and ensuring healthy lives for all.
We celebrate this recognition as it validates our mission to ensure that the contribution of health cooperatives remains a global priority for decades to come.