Knowledge Forum “Global Health at a Crossroads: Japan’s Leadership in an Era of Declining Global Aid”

The landscape for development cooperation in global health is at a turning point right now. Following aid cuts by conventional key donor countries, many international organizations are compelled to revisit or scale back their activities. Some estimate that funding for development cooperation in global health, which had amounted to around 80 billion USD in 2021, may be reduced by more than half to 38.4 billion USD in 2025. Meanwhile, low- and middle-income countries are increasingly taking initiative and exerting leadership to secure funding for health and development in general. One example is the release of the Accra Reset by the President of Ghana in September 2025.

Over the years, Japan has played a crucial role in advancing global health through diplomacy exemplified in G7 and G20, as well as through bilateral and multilateral ODA. In 2022, Japan formulated the Global Health Strategy , which sets out the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC) across countries and the strengthening of the global health architecture, a framework for global cooperation to prepare for health emergencies caused by infectious diseases as its goals. However, due to long-term stagnation and financial difficulties, while still a minority,* negative views toward ODA are domestically on the rise.

Under such circumstances, there is a need to re-examine from multiple perspectives how Japan can contribute to global health.

This Knowledge Forum will welcome Omi Shigeru (Chair, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association), who has led infectious disease control and other health measures in and outside of Japan and is a renowned expert of global health. Omi will give a keynote lecture titled “Global Health at a Crossroads: Japan’s Leadership in an Era of Declining Global Aid.” Following the keynote, Itoh Satoko (Managing Director, JCIE), Nakagawa Sachiko (Managing Director, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association) and Shibusawa Ken (CEO, Shibusawa and Company, Inc.) will join a panel to discuss in depth how Japan could contribute to the global health field in the future, focusing on the following perspectives:

1) Japan’s contribution to global health to date;
2) how Japan should deal with changes in global health finance and governance;
3) how new collaboration models involving diverse partners such as governments of low- and middle-income countries, civil society and private sector should look like;
4) how sustainable models of contribution to the global community based on co-creation with low- and middle-income countries that leverage Japan’s strengths (human resources, technology and trust) may look like.

Through the discussion at the Knowledge Forum, we aim to communicate to the world how Japan can contribute to the global health going forward.

*“Domestic Public Opinion Survey on Japan’s Diplomacy (Preliminary Report, November 27, 2025)”

4:00-4:05 p.m. (5 mins) Opening remarks
● Oba Yuichi, Deputy Assistant Minister of International Cooperation Bureau and Ambassador for Global Health Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

4:05-4:35 p.m. (30 mins) Keynote lecture “Global Health at a Crossroads: Japan’s Leadership in an Era of Declining Global Aid”
● Omi Shigeru, Chair, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association

4:35-5:55 p.m. (80 mins) Panel discussion
Panelists (in alphabetical order of family name )
● Itoh Satoko, Managing Director, JCIE
● Nakagawa Sachiko, Managing Director, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
● Shibusawa Ken, CEO, Shibusawa and Company, Inc. / Co-chair, Impact Investment Initiative (Triple I) for Global Health
● Government official from a low- and middle-income country (TBC)

Moderator
Takizawa Ikuo , Principal Research Fellow, JICA Ogata Research Institute
5:55-6:00 p.m. (5 mins) Closing remarks
● Kamei Haruko , Director General, JICA Ogata Research Institute

Please register by clicking here .
*Registration will be closed at noon February 3 (Japan time).

JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development (Mr. Takeuchi and Ms. Kajino)
E-mail：dritrp@jica.go.jp