Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2005
Next PageBox I-3. Summary of High-Level Forum (HLF) on Health MDGs in Asia and the Pacific
In cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), Japan hosted the High-Level Forum (HLF) on Health MDGs in Asia and the Pacific in Tokyo on June 21 and 22.
1. Summary
(1) Participants
Officials in charge of health, finance, or development including 11 cabinet ministers, participated from 24 different countries in the Asia-Pacific region. High officials from 13 major donor countries and agencies also attended the forum. From Japan, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa, and Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Hiroyoshi Nishi were in attendance. The Director of the Economic Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs acted as the chair.
(2) Initiatives related to health and development
In the opening remarks, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa announced the "Health and Development" Initiative (HDI) which was a successor to the Okinawa Infectious Diseases Initiative (IDI) with a more focus on the achievement of the MDGs in the health sector, and expressed the intention to further enhance support to meet the health-related MDGs. (See 2C of Part II, Chapter 2, Section 1 for details on HDI.)
(3) Summary of the discussions
(a) While a certain level of progress has been made toward the achievement of the MDGs in the Asia-Pacific region, it was confirmed that many issues remain to be solved, including disparities within regions and countries, illnesses other than infectious diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure, and newly emerging infectious diseases such as SARS and avian flu.
(b) Information was exchanged between the participating countries in section meetings. Success cases of overcoming issues in various countries and the lessons learned were introduced according to the four themes of (1) strengthening health care systems through capacity-building; (2) cross-sectoral actions to achieve the health MDGs; (3) securing resources and increasing effectiveness; and (4) promoting equity in access to quality health services. Furthermore, it was mutually acknowledged that the commitment of each country is vital and regional cooperation such as the South-South Cooperation is necessary for future efforts toward achieving the health-related MDGs.
2. Evaluation
(1) Sharing knowledge and sending out viewpoints of the Asia-Pacific region to promote efforts toward achieving the health-related MDGs.
(a) The following points, which are emphasized by Japan, were included in the chairman's summary statement as being important to advancing efforts toward achieving the health-related MDGs: (1) poverty reduction through growth, (2) the need for cross-sectoral efforts like infrastructural development, (3) the South-South cooperation, (4) the perspective of human security, and (5) capacity-building for women and ensuring their access to reproductive health services.
(b) Many participating countries expressed their views that the discussions held at this Forum were timely and beneficial, and the results of this Forum should be sent to the United Nations General Assembly as the viewpoint of the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, it was decided that the chairman's summary would be widely presented as an official UN document to the international community.
(2) Evaluation and anticipation regarding Japan's efforts toward achieving the MDGs.
By expressing its intention to further enhance its cooperation toward achieving health-related MDGs based on the HDI, Japan was able to appeal its making efforts toward fulfilling the MDGs.
Moreover, many countries expressed their high regard and appreciation to Japan for its cooperation in the area of health and medical care. At the same time, they showed strong expectations for Japan to further strengthen and enhance its efforts toward the achievement of health-related MDGs under the HDI in the future.
3. Participating countries and organizations
Participating countries and organizations include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Bhutan, China, Fiji, France, India, Indonesia, Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the U.K., the U.S., Vietnam, ADB, EC, ESCAP, GAVI, IMF, IPPF, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, World Bank, and WHO.