To maintain the momentum created by the 2016 Ise-Shima G7 Summit, which produced the G7 Ise-Shima Vision for Global Health, and by the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), which was held in August in Nairobi, Kenya, JCIE decided to organize a corporate panel that would be held in Kobe on September 10, 2016, just one day before the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting was to be held there to discuss the implementation of the Vision. The goal of JCIE’s meeting was to cultivate new stakeholders in the global health field from the corporate sector and explore their role in achieving the G7 Ise-Shima Vision. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015 illustrate the complex ways in which challenges that societies face today interrelate. Corporate engagement in international assistance efforts has been increasing in recent years as it has become clear that no sector can deal with today’s complex challenges on its own, and corporate sector involvement will be essential to efforts to achieve the SDGs and create a world where no one is left behind. These new stakeholders are diverse and are not limited to multinationals or “brand” name companies; small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seizing the opportunity to “do well by doing good” by mobilizing their technical expertise, existing infrastructure, and human and financial resources to create positive change in developing countries and communities while benefiting their bottom line.
The panel presented interesting and innovative cases of corporate engagement and explored the challenges and opportunities for corporations to meaningfully engage in the field of global health. Emphasis was placed on priorities highlighted in the G7 Ise-Shima Vision, including preparing for and responding to pandemics, expanding access to quality health services to the most vulnerable populations, and promoting active and healthy aging. For the conference report, click below.
Co-organized by WHO Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe Centre)
Supported by MinAistry of Health Labour and Welfare of Japan, Ministry of Foreignffairs of Japan, G7 Kobe Health Ministers’ Meeting Promotion Council
In collaboration with: World Food Programme, Malaria No More
Financial support provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
OPENING SESSION
Opening Remarks
Akio Okawara, President & CEO, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)
Keynote Speech
Ray Nishimoto, Representative Director & Senior Managing Executive Officer, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
Special Remarks
Yusuke Fukuda, Assistant Minister for Technical Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan
SESSION 1: Preparing for and Responding to Pandemics and Other Public Health Emergencies
Moderator: Susan Hubbard, Senior Associate, JCIE/USA
Panel
Davide Mosca, Director, Migration Health Division, International Organization for Migration
Koichi Yamada, Pharmaceutical Products Division, FUJIFILM Corporation; Director and Manager, T-705 Product Group, Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd.
Yasuko Omi, Senior Manager, Sustainable Business Development Program, Global Public Policy Relations Planning Office, Corporate Strategy Division, NEC Corporation
Rebecca Ting, Senior Health Solutions Manager for Life & Health, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Ltd., Japan Branch
Yasuhide Yamada, Councillor, Cabinet Secretariat; Director-General, Office for Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response, Coordination Office of Measures on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cabinet Secretariat
Discussion
SESSION 2: Promoting Access to Quality Health Services for All
Moderator: Sandii Lwin, Founder and Managing Director, Myanmar Health and Development Consortium
Panel
Jiro Yasuda, Professor, Department of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University
Satoru Shimada, Executive Director, AeroSense Inc.
Gitahi Evanson Githinji, CEO, AMREF Health Africa
Patrik Silborn, Head, Private Sector Engagement, Private Sector Engagement Department, External Relations Division, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
WRAP-UP SESSION
CLOSING
RECEPTION