JCIE Japan’s Managing Director, Satoko Itoh, spoke at a Knowledge Forum on global health jointly organized by the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development (JICA Ogata Research Institute) and JCIE. The event brought together policymakers, researchers, development partners, and private-sector leaders to discuss Japan’s role in global health against a backdrop of declining international aid.
Opening remarks were given by Yuichi Oba, Ambassador for Global Health Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, followed by the keynote speaker, Shigeru Omi, Chairman, Board of Directors of Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (JATA).
Ms. Itoh spoke on a panel alongside Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, former Director General, Ghana Health Service; Sachiko Nakagawa, Managing Director of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA); and Ken Shibusawa, Chief Executive Officer, Shibusawa and Company, Inc.
The panel examined:
-Japan’s contribution to global health to date;
-how Japan should deal with changes in the global health environment;
-what new collaboration models with diverse partners could look like;
-how to design sustainable models of contribution to the global community based on co-creation with low- and middle-income countries in ways that leverage Japan’s strengths
In her comments, Ms. Itoh noted the need to address two seemingly contradictory sentiments in Japan in the midst of the global aid cuts: the idea that this offers Japan a chance to step up and play a real leadership role in the field, and the urge to follow the trend and cut funding while urging partner countries to become more self-reliant. Ms. Itoh offered her thoughts on how Japan could do both by focusing on prioritization, adopting a tailored approach for health sovereignty (helping countries become self-reliant), and promoting new financial sources for health ODA. She also stressed that Japan’s continued leadership in the global health field will require four factors: continued funding, agenda-setting capacity, innovation, and trust.
