Address by Ms. Akiko HONDA, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, on the Occasion of the 76th World Health Assembly (22 May 2023)
2023/5/30
76th World Health Assembly
Theme: WHO at 75: Saving lives, driving health for all
Dear President,
His Excellency, Dr. Tedros, Director-General of the World Health Organization,
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of Government of Japan, I am honored to make this address at this Assembly.
To commemorate seventy-fifth anniversary of the establishment of WHO, I would like to express my admiration for WHO’s efforts throughout its history, to protect and promote health for all. I would also like to show my deep gratitude to Director-General Tedros for his leadership and the WHO Secretariat for their dedication.
We would like to express our deepest sympathy to those affected by the Türkiye-Syria earthquakes in February this year. And we promise to provide unwavering support those affected.
In addition, Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine is a unilateral change of the status quo by force and an outrageous act that shakes the very foundation of the international order.
It violates Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and constitutes a clear violation of international law. We strongly condemn it.
Japan will continue to support the Ukrainian government in its efforts to protect the health of its people from threats to public health.
As president of the G7 meetings this year, Japan hosted the G7 Hiroshima Summit and the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting in Nagasaki this month.
These two meetings emphasized three major agendas, which were: “Strengthening prevention, preparedness and response for future health emergencies;” “Contributing to achieving more resilient, equitable and sustainable universal health coverage;” and “Promoting health innovation.”
With regards to equitable access to medical countermeasures, we announced the “G7 Hiroshima Vision for Equitable Access to MCMs,” and also Japan spearheaded the launch of the “MCM Delivery Partnership for equitable access.”
Moreover, the “G7 Global Plan for UHC Action Agenda” was released.
Japan has expressed its financial contribution in the amount of around 7.5 billion US Dollars from the public and private sectors from 2022 to 2023 to address these global health challenges. Furthermore, G7, as a whole, has highlighted financial contributions totaling more than 48 billion US Dollars from the private and public sectors.
It is imperative to enhance political momentum through discussions in various fora with the aim of promoting global health. In this regard, I am expecting WHO to play a central role in leading this effort.
I would also like to emphasize that in addressing global health issues such as infection control, it is important to refer to good examples of regions such as Taiwan that have achieved public health success, and to avoid making any geographical vacuums created by leaving specific regions behind, in order to prevent the spread of infection worldwide.
President,
To conclude, Japan will continue to work closely with WHO and other relevant organizations to build a healthier, more equitable, peaceful, and prosperous global society.
Thank you.