(2) Partnerships Inviting Civil Participation from Volunteers, NGOs, and others
A. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer / Senior Volunteer (JICA Volunteer) Program
The JICA Volunteer Program, which includes Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), was founded in 1965 and marked its 50th anniversary in 2015. The Program has dispatched over 50,000 volunteers to 91 countries in total, contributing to the development of developing countries as a good example of Japan’s “Visible Development Cooperation.” The JOCV program dispatches Japanese citizens between the ages of 20 and 39 with skills, knowledge, experience, etc. to developing countries, while the Senior Volunteer (SV) program dispatches people between the ages of 40 and 69 with a wide range of skills and abundant experience. This Program is a public participatory program, under which volunteers stay in developing countries in principle for a two-year-term to assist economic and social development in the countries, while living and working with the local communities.
The JICA Volunteer Program not only contributes to the economic and social development of the recipient countries, but also to deepening local people’s affinity for Japan, thereby promoting mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and these countries. Additionally, the program is drawing attention in the respect that the volunteers return their experiences to the society. For example, some returned volunteers contribute to the business expansion of Japanese private companies in developing countries.
In order to promote these initiatives, the Government of Japan has been striving to make it easier for people to participate in the Volunteer Program through supporting returned volunteers in developing their careers, as well as disseminating information on how to participate in the Program through taking career breaks.
Regarding the JICA Volunteer Program including the JOCV and the SV, a new system has been introduced since the autumn recruitment in 2018, as a result of reviewing the Program. The collective name of “JICA volunteers” has been renamed to “Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.” In the new system, volunteers are classified not by the age category (youth/senior), but by whether or not the contents of the work requires a certain level of experience and skills.
●Madagascar
Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers [Midwives]
(October 2015 – October 2017)
Mahajanga district, located in the north-eastern part of Madagascar in Africa, has a particular scarcity of crops. The majority of its total population of approximately 70,000 is constrained to a life of poverty, and since there is a lack of knowledge regarding food and nutrition, many children suffer malnutrition and poor weight gain. Malnutrition affects not only people’s health, but also causes reduced labor productivity and learning achievement, due to decreased physical and cognitive ability, which in turn, results in slowed economic and social development. As such, this has become a serious problem in Madagascar.
Ms. Suganuma and a new-born baby (Photo: JICA)
Ms. Hiromi Suganuma, a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer carried out activities as a midwife such as prenatal check-ups, infant vaccination support and health education between October 2015 and October 2017, based at a basic health clinic in Mahajanga district.
Since malnourished children were not adequately identified by the Mahajanga District Health Department, Ms. Suganuma strived to identify cases of malnutrition by measuring the weight of children when their mothers visited the clinic for prenatal checkups and infant vaccinations. She also proactively visited mothers and children in rural areas who could not attend the clinic. In addition, she worked to raise awareness among mothers of their child’s development and instruct them regarding nutrition, by explaining how to read the growth development charts in the maternal and child health handbooks.
In her nutrition instruction, Ms. Suganuma passed on practical methods in a way that is easy for mothers to understand, by explaining balanced diet using a textbook, “Nutrition Improvement Kit,” produced in cooperation with the other members of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, and giving demonstrations of cooking using ingredients that are locally-produced, cheap and of high nutritional value.
Furthermore, she worked to create a system wherein health volunteers can easily carry out their activities at the basic health clinic, with a view towards creating a system for sustainably promoting improved nutrition.
B. Cooperation with Japanese NGOs
Japanese NGOs implement high-quality development cooperation activities in various fields in developing countries and regions. Even in sites affected by conflict or natural disasters, such as earthquakes and typhoons, they have been providing prompt and effective emergency humanitarian assistance. Japanese NGOs are attuned to different local situations in developing countries and are capable of carefully tailoring responses to the needs of the local people. Accordingly, Japanese NGOs can provide assistance to even the hard-to-reach grassroots level through the support of the government and international organizations. MOFA regards Japanese NGOs that carry out “Visible Japanese Development Cooperation” as indispensable partners in development cooperation. It also promotes collaboration with them through: (i) funding assistance for Japanese NGOs, (ii) support for the creation of an enabling environment for NGOs, and (iii) dialogues with NGOs.
Furthermore, under the Development Cooperation Charter, MOFA and NGOs have jointly developed a plan outlining the direction of their collaboration over the next five years, and announced the plan in 2015. Subsequently, MOFA has been following up on this plan, releasing an annual progress report on the joint plan together with NGOs.
●Funding assistance for Japanese NGOs
The Government of Japan is cooperating in various ways to enable Japanese NGOs to smoothly and effectively implement development cooperation and emergency humanitarian assistance projects in developing countries and regions.
■Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects
MOFA provides financial support for the socio-economic development projects that Japanese NGOs implement in developing countries through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. There is a wide range of fields in which the projects are implemented, such as medical care and health, education and human resources development, vocational training, rural development, water resource development, and human resources development for landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance. In FY2017, 62 Japanese NGOs utilized this framework to implement 113 projects in 35 countries and 1 region, amounting to approximately ¥5.07 billion.
■Japan Platform (JPF)
Japan Platform (JPF), an emergency humanitarian aid organization, was established in 2000 through partnership among NGOs, the government, and the business community, and 42 NGOs are its members as of January 2019. JPF utilizes ODA funds provided by MOFA, as well as donations from companies and citizens to carry out emergency humanitarian assistance, such as the distribution of living supplies and livelihood recovery, when a major natural disaster occurs or a vast number of refugees flee from conflicts. In FY2017, JPF implemented 83 projects under 10 programs, including humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, assistance for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Iraq and Syria, humanitarian assistance in Gaza Strip in Palestine, assistance in South Sudan, humanitarian assistance for displaced persons in Bangladesh, assistance for flood damage in Sierra Leone and South Asia, and assistance for Sri Lanka affected by flooding.
■NGO Project Subsidies
MOFA provides subsidies to Japanese NGOs that conduct project formulation studies, post-project evaluations, and seminars and workshops in Japan and overseas for socio-economic development projects. The subsidies are provided at a maximum of ¥2 million up to half of the total project cost. In 2018, eight organizations utilized these subsidies to implement activities such as project formulation studies, post-project evaluations, and seminars and workshops both in and outside of Japan.
■JICA Partnership Program (JPP)
Giving instructions on vegetable farming to Zambian trainees as part of the “Project for enhancing the stable use of food by small-scale farmers through Marumori’s traditional technology,” which was selected under the Special Category of Local Government Type of JPP. See “Stories from the Field” for more details. (Photo: Koya-Shinkokai Community)
JICA’s technical cooperation projects are occasionally outsourced to the private sector including NGOs, so as to make use of the expertise and experience of various organizations including NGOs, universities, and local governments. Furthermore, JICA conducts the “JICA Partnership Program (JPP)” in which JICA entrusts international cooperation activities proposed by Japanese NGOs, universities, local governments, and public interest corporations, etc. with an interest in international cooperation. In FY2017, a total of 222 projects were implemented in 51 countries across the world. The Program offers three categories of assistance depending on the size and type of organizations: (i) Partner Type (scale of project: less than a total of ¥100 million, duration of project: less than 5 years), (ii) Support Type (scale: less than a total of ¥10 million, duration: less than 3 years), and (iii) Local Government Type (scale: less than a total of ¥30 million, duration: less than 3 years. Less than a total of ¥60 million for projects under the Special Category of Local Government Type.)
●Support for the creation of an enabling environment for NGOs
Further measures to support Japanese NGO activities other than financial assistance include programs for establishing a better environment for NGO activities. The objective of these programs is to further strengthen the organizational arrangements and project implementation capabilities of Japanese NGOs, as well as develop their human resources. Specifically, MOFA carries out the following four programs.
■NGO Consultant Scheme
Under this scheme, MOFA commissions highly experienced NGOs in all of Japan (15 organizations were commissioned in FY2017) to address inquiries and respond to requests for consultation from citizens and NGOs, regarding international cooperation activities, NGO organizational management methods, approaches for providing development education, etc. NGO consultants also provide free lectures and seminars on international cooperation at international cooperation events and other educational occasions, as well as create opportunities for many people to enrich their understanding of NGOs and international cooperation activities.
■NGO Intern Program
The NGO Intern Program aims to open doors for young people seeking employment in Japanese international cooperation NGOs, and to train them to contribute to Japan’s ODA in the future. Through this Program, MOFA seeks to expand the international cooperation efforts of Japanese NGOs and further strengthen the collaborative relations between ODA and NGOs. To this end, MOFA commissions international cooperation NGOs in Japan to accept and train interns, and disburse a certain amount of the training costs.
The NGOs that accept interns may apply to extend the internship duration for “new interns” hired for 10 months, for another 12 months as “continuing interns” which amounts to a maximum of 22 months of intern training. In FY2017, 10 interns were newly accepted into NGOs through this program.
■NGO Overseas Study Program
The NGO Overseas Study Program covers the costs for the overseas training of mid-career personnel from Japanese international cooperation NGOs for up to six months, aiming at strengthening their organizations through human resources development. The training is divided into two types: “Practical Training,” through which the participants improve their practical skills and gain working experience at overseas NGOs or international organizations that have an excellent track record of international development projects and relevant policy recommendations, and “Training Enrollment,” through which participants enroll in fee-based programs offered by overseas training institutions, aiming at improving their expertise. Trainees can establish training themes themselves, based on the issues that their organizations are facing. Upon returning to Japan, trainees are expected to utilize the fruits of their training for their organizations’ activities, and contribute to enhance the capabilities of Japanese NGOs as a whole by sharing information with other Japanese NGOs. In FY2017, seven people received the training through this program.
■NGO Study Group
MOFA supports Japanese NGOs in organizing study group meetings to build up the capabilities and expertise of NGOs. In particular, NGOs that are commissioned to implement the program conduct studies, seminars, workshops (participatory lectures), and symposiums in cooperation with other NGOs. This program is designed for NGOs to strengthen their organizations and capacities by accumulating experience through the above activities, and reporting or suggesting specific measures for improvement. In FY2017, study group meetings were held on the following three themes: (i) “Research on the Methods for Japanese NGOs to Assist the Development of Dialogue Process between the Government and Local NGOs in Asian and African Countries,” (ii) “Research on Challenges for Japanese NGOs in Safety and Security Management with Policy Recommendations,” and (iii) “Global Health and NGOs.” Activity reports and outcomes are available on the ODA website of MOFA.
■NGO Activities Support Project by JICA
Apart from the support provided by MOFA, JICA also conducts NGO activities support programs in various forms such as training for NGOs and NPOs, public interest corporations, educational institutions, and local governments that carry out international cooperation activities. It is designed for them to conduct and promote more effective and constructive projects. As part of JICA’s own initiatives or through proposals by NGOs, JICA organizes training concerning the implementation of projects in developing countries, necessary to carry out the JICA Partnership Program (JPP), as well as training tailored to the situation of each region and field to strengthen the functions of NGOs.
■NGO-JICA Japan Desk
In addition to supporting NGO’s on-site activities, JICA has also established “NGO-JICA Japan Desks” in 20 countries outside of Japan in order to strengthen projects jointly conducted by NGOs and JICA. The NGO-JICA Japan Desks provide support primarily in three areas: (i) Operations essential for the smooth implementation of JICA projects conducted in collaboration with Japanese NGOs, etc., (ii) Operations to assist on-site activities of Japanese NGOs, etc., and (iii) Operations necessary for enhancing cooperation between Japanese NGOs and JICA.
●Dialogue with NGO
■NGO-Ministry of Foreign Affairs Regular Consultation Meetings
In order to promote a stronger partnership and dialogue between NGOs and MOFA, the NGO-Ministry of Foreign Affairs Regular Consultation Meeting was launched in FY1996 for sharing information on ODA and regularly exchanging opinions on measures for improving partnerships with NGOs. In addition to the General Meeting held once a year, there are currently two subcommittees, the “ODA Policy Council” and the “Partnership Promotion Committee.” Both subcommittees are convened three times a year as a general rule. At the “ODA Policy Council,” opinions are exchanged on general ODA policies, while at the “Partnership Promotion Committee,” the agenda focuses on support for NGOs and partnership policies.
■NGO-Embassies ODA Consultation Meeting
Since 2002, the Japanese Government has been organizing “NGO-Embassies ODA Consultation Meetings” in developing countries where many Japanese NGOs operate, providing actors from embassies, JICA, and NGOs a platform to exchange their views on the efficient and effective implementation of ODA.
■NGO-JICA Consultation Meeting
Based on equal partnership with NGOs, JICA held the NGO-JICA Consultation Meeting four times in FY2017 to promote the realization of more effective international cooperation, as well as public understanding and participation in international cooperation.