Press Releases
Grant Assistance to the Independent State of Samoa Signing and Exchange of Notes on the Improvement of Facilities at the Faculty of Health Science, National University of Samoa
On February 10, in Apia, capital of the Independent State of Samoa, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Independent State of Samoa, signed and exchanged notes for the Improvement of Facilities at the Faculty of Health Science, National University of Samoa (project of up to 2.401 billion yen).
- Samoa consists of two main islands, Upolu and Savai'i, and seven other smaller islands. Their health sector constantly faces issues such as shortage of medical personnel, aging facilities, and budget shortfalls. Particularly, there is an immediate need to train and develop healthcare personnel. Vaccinations were difficult to implement during an outbreak of measles in 2019 due to a shortage of medical professionals with sufficient expertise, despite having equipment for delivering the vaccines from donor support, which underlines the urgent need to enhance health and medical education.
- The goal of this project is to construct a training facility for the Faculty of Health Science of National University of Samoa in Apia for physician and nurse training programs and to provide related equipment. This project will improve the quality of health and medical education, which will contribute to overcoming the fragility of the country's health care system through education of healthcare personnel.
- At the Ninth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM9) held in July 2021, Japan announced priority areas of assistance, including "Strengthening Foundation for Sustainable and Resilient Economic Development" and "COVID-19 Response and Recovery." This Grant Assistance will help to realize these goals.
The country covers 2,830 square kilometers (about 1.3 times the size of Tokyo) and has a population of approximately 200,000 people. It has a per capita gross national income (GNI) of US$4,050 (2020, World Bank).
On July 2, 2021, the Ninth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 9) was held in the form of a video conference under the co-chairmanship of Mr. SUGA Yoshihide, then Prime Minister of Japan, and Hon. Kausea NATANO, Prime Minister of Tuvalu. The meeting was attended by leaders from 19 countries and regions, including Japan, 14 island countries (Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomons, Tonga, Vanuatu), Australia, New Zealand, and the two regions of New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
At PALM9, under the Pacific Bond (KIZUNA) Policy, Japan announced the continuation of development assistance over the next three years in five priority areas: (1) COVID-19 Response and Recovery, (2) Sustainable Oceans based on the Rule of Law, (3) Climate Change and Disaster Resilience, (4) Strengthening Foundation for Sustainable and Resilient Economic Development, and (5) People-to-People Exchanges and Human Resource Development for over 5,500 people.