SPECIAL COMMISSION ON JAPAN'S STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR HEALTH
2019–2020
JCIE launched the Special Commission on Japan’s Strategy on Development Assistance for Health (DAH) in November 2019. With just 10 more years until the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDG) target year of 2030, there is a pressing need for Japan to increase the development impact of its global health assistance and make global health funding more strategic.
Under the chairmanship of Rep. Yasuhisa Shiozaki (former Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare), the commission aims to reassess how to utilize Japan’s ODA in a more strategic manner to advance global health, adapt to structural shifts in the development field, and increase the efficacy and impact of its funding in order to help achieve Goal 3 of the SDGs, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”
The commission consists of 23 senior representatives from key government agencies, civil society organizations, and the policy community. In addition, a Working Group has been created to support the commission’s work by gathering and analyzing evidence for its consideration.
This commission is a consultative body of the JCIE’s Executive Committee on Global Health and Human Security. The initial meeting of this commission was held on November 19, 2019, followed by another 10 commission and working group meetings throughout 2020.
On November 30, 2020, the commission released the official report, “Japan’s Global Health Diplomacy in the Post-COVID Era—The Paradigm Shift Needed on ODA and Related Policies,” to address the need for a major shift in ODA policy in response to the global spread of COVID-19. The report offers recommendations within six major spheres:
- Recommendation 1: Delineate “control towers” for global health and ODA and strengthen their capabilities
- Recommendation 2: Set new targets for contributions to global health
- Recommendation 3: Pursue strategic selection and concentration
- Recommendation 4: Create synergy through the improved alignment of multilateral and bilateral ODA
- Recommendation 5: Strengthen partnership with NGOs and other players from within and outside of Japan
- Recommendation 6: Strengthen human resource initiatives to develop innovative personnel who can respond to the changing global health landscape
Following the release of this report, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) compiled a proposal for Japan’s global health diplomacy in a post-COVID era that was approved on December 18, 2020.
| SHIGERU ARIIZUMI | Deputy Director-General, International Bureau, Ministry of Finance |
| NORIKO FUJITA | Director, Department of Global Network and Partnership, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) |
| NORIKO FURUYA | Member, House of Representatives of Japan |
| KATSUMI HIRANO | Executive Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) |
| MASAKI INABA | Representative, Japan CSO Network on Global Health; Policy Advisor, Japan Civil Society Network on SDGs (SDGs Japan) |
| SUMIE ISHII | Chairperson, Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP) |
| KIYOSHI KODERA | Chair of the Board, Water Aid Japan; Senior Research Associate, Overseas Development Institute (ODI); former Vice President, JICA |
| SHUNSUKE MABUCHI | Senior Advisor, Global Delivery, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| KAREN MAKISHIMA | Member, House of Representatives of Japan |
| DAIKICHI MOMMA | Executive Advisor, Nippon Life Insurance Company; former Director-General, International Bureau, Ministry of Finance |
| HIROSHI NAKA | Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, the University of Tokyo |
| HIROKI NAKATANI | Board member and Director, Human Resource Strategy Center for Global Health, National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM); Project Professor, Global Research Institute at Keio University (KGRI); Board Chair and Representative Director, Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) |
| KYOKO OKAMURA | Nutrition Specialist, Health, Population and Nutrition, The World Bank Group |
| AKIO OKAWARA | President and CEO, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE); Director, Executive Committee on Global Health and Human Security |
| YASUHISA SHIOZAKI | Member, House of Representatives [Commission Chair] |
| HIDEO SUZUKI | Director-General/Assistant Minister, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| YASUHIRO SUZUKI | Medical Commissioner, Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare |
| YUKIO TAKASU | Special Advisor on Human Security to the UN Secretary-General; former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Management; former Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations |
| KEIZO TAKEMI | Member, House of Councillors; Senior Fellow, JCIE; Chair, Executive Committee on Global Health and Human Security |
| IKUO TAKIZAWA | Deputy Director General, Human Development Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) |
| TAKAO TODA | Vice President for Human Security and Global Health, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) |
| TAMAKI TSUKADA | Director-General for Global Issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| MITSUHIRO USHIO | Director, Hitachinaka Public Health Center, Ibaraki Prefectural Government; former Health Policy Advisor to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (JICA Expert) |
| SATOKO ITOH | Managing Director, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) |
| KENICHI KOMADA | Assistant Director, Division of Global Health Policy and Research, Department of Health Planning and Management, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) |
| SHIORI NAGATANI | Program Associate, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) |
| SHUHEI NOMURA | Project Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University; Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo; and Research Fellow, Institute for Global Health Policy Research (iGHP), National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) |
| HARUKA SAKAMOTO | Special Research Fellow, Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo |
| MOTOKO SEKO | Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) |
| TOMOKO SUZUKI | Chief Program Officer, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE) |
| IKUO TAKIZAWA | Deputy Director General, Human Development Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) [Working Group Director; also serving as commissioner] |
| MAKOTO TOBE | Senior Advisor on Health, Human Development Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) |
PROGRAM NEWS
Japan’s Global Health Diplomacy in the Post-COVID Era—The Paradigm Shift Needed on ODA and Related Policies
Special Commission on Japan’s Strategy on Development Assistance for Health
2020 & 2021 |
A report from a high-level commission organized by JCIE calls for the Japanese government to better coordinate and strategize its health ODA by creating a centralized “control tower” and to double fun…
Survey of Japanese Legislators: Attitudes on ODA and Global Health
Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)
June 2020 |
A JCIE survey of Japanese legislators finds that 80 percent of the 92 respondents favor steps to increase Japan’s official development assistance (ODA), with most prioritizing funding for health progr…
Reformulating Japan's Global Health ODA to Meet Changing Global Needs
January 30, 2020 | Bangkok, Thailand
More than 30 senior government officials, health experts, and leaders from international organizations gathered to discuss the direction Japan should take to improve its developmental assistance for h…