Address by Mrs. Kiyoko Fukuda, the First Lady
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
TICAD IV Spouse Program
Working Lunch Hosted by the First Lady
Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Your Excellencies from all over Africa, dear Madams,
Thank you for joining us at this lunch today. My name is Kiyoko Fukuda. I am very pleased to welcome you all to Yokohama on the occasion of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV).
When we Japanese refer to "Africa," we usually think of the African continent. With over 50 nations and a multiplicity of climates, cultures and languages included in that one continent, it would take days to touch on every one of your home countries. Since we have been joined today by experts from the UN, including Executive Director Ann Veneman of UNICEF, I will leave those discussions in their more capable hands.
(To the Executive Director and her party)
Thank you for joining us for this lunch today. This will be a day for me to remember personally, first having the officials of globally active international organizations in attendance, including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank, and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and also being able to host this venue to speak with the attendees from African nations.
I myself am a mother of three children. I would like to take this opportunity to briefly talk to you about something called the Maternal and Child Health Handbook, created in Japan and still doing a great deal to safeguard the lives and health of women and their children today.
(With the Handbook in hand)
This is the Maternal and Child Health Handbook. You should also each have an English-language copy at your seat, provided by the City of Yokohama. Japanese mothers receive the Handbook from local governments such as the City of Yokohama when they notify the government of their pregnancy. In this Handbook, mothers can record their own health condition and that of their unborn children right up to birth, as well as the development of their babies afterwards. The Handbook has columns for noting the results of regular baby checkups and vaccinations, as well as information needed to protect the health of mother and child.
The book I have in my hand right now is from when I was first expecting. It's about 40 years old, and I brought it with me today to show you. Many Japanese mothers have old handbooks around, as treasured keepsakes.
About sixty years ago, Japan was in the midst of a chaotic period following the end of World War II. In a time of food shortages and poor sanitation, the Maternal and Child Health Handbook did much to protect maternal and fetal health and reduce the infant mortality rate. And today, it is still being used to safeguard the health of mothers and children in Japan.
I believe that every mother who treasures little books like this one, the record of her baby's early years, wants that child to grow up safely and live in a peaceful world.
The Japanese government, in partnership with international organizations such as UNICEF, local health organizations and NGOs, has worked to propagate the Maternal and Child Health Handbook in Indonesia and other Asian nations. In regions with low literacy or multiple languages, the Handbook uses pictures to serve a larger number of people. Currently, the Japanese government is promoting the Handbook as a "passport of life" in Palestine's West Bank, so that mothers and children can receive the appropriate checkups and treatment at another clinic even if they are prevented by checkpoints from going back to their first clinic.
Geographically, there is a large distance between your home countries and Japan. I know that you must have felt the distance, arriving as you did after a long, tiring flight. But I believe we are united by a wish which bridges that physical gap as well as differences in environment and tradition, to protect the lives and health of women and children.
Today, I was able to introduce a small idea, the Maternal and Child Health Handbook, to you. We would like to present a number of ideas like this in the future, so that we can all exchange ideas and knowledge in order to work towards African development, together.
The theme of TICAD IV is "Towards a Vibrant Africa." Many of the people from Africa I have met are people from embassies, sitting over at that table. I've always admired the energy and joy with which you make efforts for the development of your country. I look forward to nurturing friendship further with you here and supporting a "Vibrant Africa."
In closing, I would like to spend a few moments to discuss the TICAD venue. Yokohama is a harbor city that will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port next year. The Minato Mirai district, where this hotel is located, is a collection of highrises and cutting-edge technology, as you can see. However, if you join us for tomorrow's program, you will see Japan's traditional culture at a Japanese garden called Sankeien. I see several types of wonderful traditional dress in the room today, and tomorrow, Mrs. Haruko Koumura, the wife of our Foreign Minister, and I will be welcoming you all in Japanese national dress, the kimono. I hope you will enjoy it.
I hope from the bottom of my heart that your stay in Japan will be both pleasant and meaningful.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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