Health and Medical Care
Foreign Minister MOTEGI’s attendance at the Ministerial Meeting of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Friends Group
On September 23, commencing at 1:22 p.m. local time (September 24, 2:22 a.m., Japan time) for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs, during his visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, attended the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Friends Group Ministerial Meeting and delivered opening remarks.
In addition to Minister MOTEGI, the meeting was attended by Mr. Mikheil Sarjveladze, Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia and Mr. Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, who served as Co-Chairs of the UHC Friends Group. Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care, World Health Organization (WHO), also attended.
- Minister MOTEGI stated that global health has long been one of the main pillars of Japan’s foreign policy and Japan is committed to promoting UHC and to realize “human security.” Minister MOTEGI also mentioned that UHC is indispensable for preparing for future health crises, and addressing infectious diseases in particular requires international cooperation. In this regard, in response to the recent Ebola virus outbreak, Japan has provided 8.5 million US dollars in emergency grants to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
- Furthermore, Minister MOTEGI stated that achieving UHC requires the establishment of resilient, sustainable and self-reliant health systems that respect country ownership. The Government of Japan, in collaboration with WHO and the World Bank, will advance the “UHC Knowledge Hub” and contribute to the success of next year’s UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on UHC.
- The participants, taking into account the progress to date in promoting UHC, shared understanding of the necessity to continue to maintain and strengthen the momentum for promoting UHC and the importance of accelerating efforts towards achieving UHC for the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on UHC next year.
(Reference1) Attachment
Opening Remarks by Foreign Minister MOTEGI (English (PDF)
/ Japanese (PDF))
(Reference2) Universal Health Coverage (UHC)
To ensure that all people can receive the quality health services they need at an affordable cost without financial hardship.
(Reference3) The Group of Friends of UHC
The Group of Friends of UHC was established in December 2018, facilitated by Japan. It serves as an informal platform for UN Member States to build momentum towards achieving UHC by 2030 worldwide as stated in the Sustainable Development Goals and by UN High-Level Meeting on UHC.