THE STANDARD OPINION As we celebrate Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day today, it is time to take stock of how policymakers can involve the civil society in advocating quality healthcare. The UHC commitment by the government is to ensure everyone can access quality health services without financial hardship or without plunging families, already impoverished by catastrophic health expenditures, in greater debt. However, what is the reality on the ground? The last mile patient is still lacking in basic healthcare services which lags the economy, a situation exacerbated by the raging wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 responses should reach the furthest behind first and should be available to all people, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability or social status. As the civil society constituency of UHC2030 (UHC2030), the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism brings together the non-governmental and non-commercial sectors, be they individuals, communities, institutions or non-profits like the Smile Train.