Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted all aspects of our global society and economies and progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), further worsening structural fragilities and deepening inequalities. Some countries that have designed their health systems for universality based on a whole system approach with a unified information platform and provider payments were better prepared and more resilient and performed better in responding to the pandemic. This blog shares insight on UHC and COVID-19 preparedness in Asia and the Pacific.