Global Health Diet Delegation to Guinea

In the wake of the recent Ebola crisis that struck three countries in West Africa in particular, JCIE took a delegation of Diet members and health experts to one of the most affected countries, Guinea, from May 2–5, 2016, to learn about the current status of and future plans for the country’s health crisis management, as well as the issues facing the health system, with the goal of improving Japan’s contributions to global health and health system strengthening.

Another motivation for this mission is the fact that in 2016, TICAD VI (the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development) will be held for the first time in Africa. The meetings conducted during JCIE’s mission to Guinea also offered an opportunity for Japanese policymakers to explain Japan’s global health policies, its plans for the 2016 G7 Summit, and its objectives for the TICAD VI meeting, while also exploring the needs on the ground and the ways in which Japan and African nations can deepen their partnership to address global issues and improve the health and security of the people of Africa and around the world.

One additional outcome of the delegation’s visit was the launch in February 2017 of a Guinea-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League. The league is chaired by Hon. Hidehisa Otsuji, while his fellow delegation members, Hon. Masahisa Sato and Hon. Masanobu Ogura, are members as well.

This program is a component of JCIE’s Global Health and Human Security program, which is carried out thanks to the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.