PROMOTING HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Children's Health
The eradication of polio continues to be a remarkably successful collaborative effort by the Governments of the United States and Japan. Together, our two Governments, in conjunction with organizations such as the WHO, UNICEF, and Rotary International, have virtually eliminated polio in the Western Pacific region, have made significant progress in polio eradication efforts in Southeast Asia and are expanding this program into sub-Saharan Africa. The Governments of the United States and Japan are working towards the ambitious goal of eradicating polio world-wide by the year 2000. Complementary activities in this area have focused on supporting National Immunization Days, strengthening surveillance capability, and providing vaccines and the necessary refrigeration equipment for their preservation.
The two Governments have also contributed to advancing the global Children's Vaccine Initiative by increasing the availability of vaccines in developing countries and furthering research on vaccines for children. The two Governments will also explore cooperation on the control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and support of micronutrient programs in developing countries.
Population and HIV/AIDS
Joint cooperation on slowing population growth and combating HIV/AIDS is one of the largest programs under the Common Agenda. Under this initiative, the Governments of the United States and Japan have sent joint project formulation missions in 1995 to the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and India. In Kenya, locally-based U.S. and Japanese personnel carried out joint population and health sector assessment and design formulation.
United States and Japan cooperative projects include provision of basic medical equipment, support for family planning and maternal child health activities, support for HIV/AIDS research, provision of HIV test kits, strengthening of blood bank operations, training of health workers, and support for AIDS surveillance systems. Each country program varies based on actual needs and opportunities for cooperation which are identified during joint project formulation missions and consultations with recipient governments, international organizations and non-governmental entities.
As a result of earlier project formulation missions to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, a number of new population and HIV/AIDS cooperative activities have been developed, funded, and are now being implemented. Joint project evaluation and monitoring are also taking place to assure quality and timely implementation. Other recent activities include joint health sector evaluations of ongoing activities in Zambia and Ghana. The Government of Japan, through its Global Issues Initiative on Populations and AIDS, is to cooperate with the Government of the United States in the redesign of the U.S. Agency for International Development's central HIV/AIDS program. The Government of the United States is actively participating in Japanese government study groups that are looking at future project formulation in this area. Recognizing the importance and benefits of technical personnel exchange, in 1995, a USAID specialist was sent as a trainee to the Japan International Cooperation Agency. 
The Government of Japan has increased its support world-wide to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in population and HIV/AIDS sectors through its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects program. USAID has facilitated contact and collaboration between U.S. and Japanese NGOs in order to foster stronger cooperation. A series of U.S.-Japan NGO seminars and workshops on HIV/AIDS and population have been held in Tokyo and Washington. The Government of Japan initiated training courses for NGOs in this area in Thailand and Tokyo, with the technical support of U.S. NGOs.
Women in Development
The two Governments are working closely to encourage women's role in development, in accordance with the goals of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. The "Women in Development " initiative was added to the Common Agenda at the January 11, 1995 U.S.-Japan Summit Meeting. As a result of a joint planning mission sent to Guatemala in 1995, the two Governments are collaborating to improve the educational opportunities for girls in that country. The two Governments are also formulating a program to foster women's microenterprises in developing countries. Following collaboration in Guatemala, the two Governments are considering other target countries for cooperation in these areas.
Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases
As one of the six new Common Agenda initiatives, this new project will be launched in response to the global resurgence of infectious diseases which are increasingly resistant to potent antibiotics and are mutating into dangerous new strains. This initiative aims to improve global efforts to prevent and control the spread of re-emerging infectious diseases once thought to have been conquered, such as tuberculosis, cholera and malaria, and emerging infectious diseases such as new strains of influenza, and antibiotic-resistant diseases.
Discussions are currently underway to increase U.S.-Japan global cooperation in strengthening surveillance networks and response capability, as well as improving and expanding biomedical research and training. Initial consultations on research and training among infectious disease experts from both countries will take place July 1996, in Kyoto, under the auspices of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program.
Global Food Supply
The Governments of the United States and Japan both recognize the critical problem posed by lack of reliable food supplies in countries facing hunger and malnutrition and the importance of ensuring future global food supply capacity. Under this initiative, the two Governments will consider collaboration in areas such as scientific and technological research to expand food production capacity and the promotion of sustainable agricultural development. The goals of the joint planning on this initiative will be consistent with the objectives of the World Food Summit to be held in November 1996.
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