Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2008
Next PageMain Text > Part III Official Development Assistance in FY2007 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's Official Development Assistance > Section 2. Measures for Each of the Priority Issues > 3. Addressing Global Issues > (2) Infectious Diseases
<Record for FY2007>
For the record for the infectious diseases sector FY2007, see record for the health and welfare sector.
<Current Status>
Infectious diseases, including the three major communicable diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria), not only pose a threat to the health of individuals in developing countries, but also act as a serious hindrance to the economic and social development of these countries. In 2007, the number of people who died from AIDS was approximately 2 million worldwide, which was less than the previous year, but the number of people living with HIV continues to rise.43 More than two thirds of those who are HIV positive and more than three quarters of deaths caused by AIDS in the world are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa.44 For tuberculosis, 2 billion people, approximately one third of the world population, are infected, and in 2006 it was responsible for 1.66 million deaths.45 Half of the cases occurred in Asia, and the rate of people exhibiting symptoms or dying is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is said that approximately 247 million people around the world live in a region at high risk of malaria, and that the number of deaths each year exceed 1 million people.46 Because the acceleration of globalization has facilitated the movement of people and goods, infectious diseases are more likely to spread to other countries across borders. Infectious diseases have thus become a global issue that must be tackled through international cooperation.
<Japan's Efforts>
In 2005, the government of Japan announced the Health and Development Initiative (HDI). The objective of the HDI is to contribute to the achievement of the health-related MDGs. Under this initiative, the government has been providing comprehensive assistance amounting to approximately US$5.0 billion over five years from 2005 to 2009 for health issues, including measures against infectious diseases. Furthermore, in order to crystallize HDI in Africa, Japan has been promoting Asia-Africa cooperation and other cooperation in fields such as the fight against the three major communicable diseases and parasitic diseases, based on the African Infectious Diseases Action Plan drawn up in 2006.
The efforts by the international community for measures against infectious diseases led to the establishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM, hereafter referred to as the Global Fund) following the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit held in 2000. To date Japan has contributed a total of US$846.18 million to the fund. Moreover, as a member of the Executive Board since the Global Fund was first established, Japan has been contributing to its effective and efficient management.
In addition, a large number of measures against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases are being implemented through funds established with contributions from Japan. These funds include the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security; the Japan Trust Fund (JTF) for HIV/AIDS of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which is an international NGO; the UNESCO Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Capacity Development of Human Resources and Special Trust Fund for AIDS Education; and the Japan Social Development Fund.
• HIV/AIDS
Japan contributes to HIV/AIDS prevention activities, Counseling and Testing (CT), and management of the HIV/ AIDS survey and diagnosis system, while giving due consideration to strengthening the entire healthcare system. In FY2007, Japan offered grant aid to provide HIV testing kits to Tanzania, which is ranked high in terms of estimated rate of infection and number of patients, even among African countries.47 In Tanzania, Japan has been also implementing a technical cooperation project to strengthen the organization of the National AIDS Control Program (NACP). These two cooperative projects are expected to complement each other. FY2007 sees new initiatives that started in Zambia, Senegal, and Jamaica. In Zambia for instance, Japan implemented a technical cooperation project to assist the virus laboratories at the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia as well as tertiary hospitals and laboratories of provincial hospitals in establishing the HIV/AIDS Laboratory Quality Assurance System in accordance with the Operational Plan for the National Laboratory by the Government of Zambia. In addition, Japan works on anti-AIDS measures in tandem with loan aid projects for large-scale infrastructure development, taking into account the possibility of the increased risk of HIV infection due to the employment of migrant workers for those projects.
• Tuberculosis
In the past, tuberculosis (TB) was the major focus of Japan's own efforts to combat infectious diseases. Therefore, Japan has a high standard of research, survey, and treatment techniques in the field of tuberculosis, and has provided support to developing countries using its extensive experience. In FY2007, Japan sought cooperation focusing mainly on the promotion of short-term chemotherapy with direct observation to ensure that patients take their anti-tuberculosis medications (DOTS: Directly Observed Treatments, Short-course), in accordance with the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 formulated on the basis of international collaboration in the field of tuberculosis. Japan has provided tuberculosis medication and clinical equipment, prioritizing countries facing serious tuberculosis problems, including those amongst WHO's High Burden Countries for tuberculosis. Japan also dispatches TB experts to countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Zambia, and Cambodia to strengthen management structures of local anti-tuberculosis programs, as well as to provide training, supervision and guideline support for improving testing capacities. Through these efforts, Japan has contributed to the expansion and promotion of DOTS. Japan's cooperation has also steadily shown results in other countries. Out of the 22 High Burden Countries for tuberculosis, in which 80% of the world's tuberculosis patients are concentrated, the three countries of China, Viet Nam, and the Philippines have achieved international goals. For these countries, Japan has provided integral assistance through technical cooperation and grant assistance. In FY2007, Japan continued to address TB issues by, for example, helping Zambia strengthen anti-TB measures through NGOs.
• Malaria
In FY2007, Japan provided Burkina Faso with approximately 23,000 mosquito nets to decrease the rate of infection and death from malaria that seriously troubled the country. Japan also promotes partnerships with UNICEF and other international organizations, and, through the partnerships, has distributed approximately 10.3 million mosquito nets as of the end of 2007. According to UNICEF estimates, 10 million mosquito nets distributed with the help from Japan can prevent the deaths of 160,000 children under five years old in Africa. Other efforts by Japan in FY2007 include assistance to the Solomon Islands in Oceania for effective malaria control through appropriate diagnosis and sanitation, an information system on malaria, and improved capacity of doctors and nurses.
• Polio
The world is facing the last stage in the efforts towards polio eradication. In 2000, WHO issued a complete polio eradication manifesto for the Western Pacific region. As a result, the number of polio epidemic countries was reduced to the four countries of Nigeria, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. WHO has been concentrating its assistance to these four polio epidemic countries in order to completely eradicate polio. Japan, taking account of this WHO strategy to eradicate polio, offers assistance to provide polio vaccines in cooperation with UNICEF and other institutions, targeting the four countries and countries with risks of infection. In FY2007, assistance for Nigeria was especially strengthened, considering the fact that Nigeria was the only epidemic country in Africa and that more than 80% of imported polio cases resulted from that country.
• Parasitic Diseases
Recently, "neglected tropical diseases" have been drawing attention, such as Chagas' disease, Guinea Worm disease, filariasis, and schistosomiasis. Japan has been making serious efforts to combat Chagas' disease in Central American countries and its support to develop the structure for preventing vehicular transmission has led to a significant reduction of infectious diseases risk. Regarding filariasis, which brings long-term harm to people' s health and social life as parasites remain in the human body, Japan has been cooperating with WHO in efforts toward eradicating filariasis in the Oceania region by 2010 and in Bangladesh by 2015. Through the distribution of anti-parasitic agents and education materials, as well as prevention education provided by JOCV, Japan has contributed to a significant reduction in the number of patients newly infected and has helped to maintain the non-epidemic status of the disease.
• Emerging Infectious Diseases and Pandemic Influenza
Avian influenza, one of the emerging infectious diseases, is of serious concern in the Asian region in particular. In the event of mutation of the virus causing pandemic influenza, it would endanger the entire world. In FY2007, Japan announced additional grant assistance totaling US$69 million against avian and pandemic influenza. As a part of such efforts, Japan has been implementing grant aid cooperation for Indonesia, one of the countries most seriously hit by avian influenza. The cooperation project is for improvements in diagnosis capacity including the renovation and establishment of Disease Investigation Centers, instruction on diagnosis equipment, and guidance for safety and protection.48 Cooperation to monitor and share information on outbreaks of infection has been also carried out in collaboration with health centers.49 Other efforts include stockpiling antiviral drugs for 1.5 million people in cooperation with the ASEAN and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), contributing to public awareness raising, development of early warning systems and rapid containment capacities through WHO, UNICEF and other international organizations, and strengthening systems to contain avian influenza epidemics before they reach humans together with other Asian countries through the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE: Office International des Epizooties).