It has been two and a half years since new coronavirus infections began to threaten our health and way of life. In order to control the spread of infectious diseases beyond national borders and to prepare for a new pandemic, it is essential to take measures not only within one’s own country but also in developing countries, especially those with weak healthcare systems. Everyone in the world should be able to prevent infectious diseases, receive diagnosis and treatment when they do occur, and be prepared to cope with another pandemic in the future. With this goal in mind, JICA has been working on the “JICA Global Healthcare Initiative” since July 2020. Now, we will look back on the past efforts and consider how we can cooperate in the future.
Protecting people’s lives and health through the three pillars of “treatment,” “prevention,” and “vigilance
In the first half of 2020, a pandemic of new coronavirus infection began around the world. There was no vaccine, no treatment, and no idea what kind of virus it was, so the whole world was struck with great anxiety. In particular, there were fears of an explosive spread of infection in developing countries with weak healthcare systems.
Against this backdrop, JICA was quick to initiate emergency assistance in developing countries to strengthen infection prevention and testing systems, and to establish hospitals capable of receiving seriously ill patients. At the same time, JICA launched the JICA Global Healthcare Initiative with the aim of protecting people’s lives and health and building healthcare systems that are more resistant to infectious diseases.
Efforts under this initiative are based on three pillars: “treatment” to strengthen the treatment and diagnosis system by upgrading hospitals and training medical personnel; “vigilance” to establish an inspection and research system for infectious diseases; and “prevention” to promote hand washing, improve sanitary environments, and spread vaccines.
As the fight against new coronavirus infections dragged on, we also took steps to meet the needs of individual countries: we built hospitals to improve medical services for approximately 200 million people in 22 countries, and provided 64 countries with the equipment and materials needed to fight infectious diseases and strengthen prevention systems.
While the number of critically ill patients requiring intensive care was increasing, the treatment system in developing countries was not keeping pace due to a lack of intensive care expertise and technology, as well as facilities and equipment for isolation beds. To address this issue, we connected local doctors and nurses with intensive care specialists in Japan via a communication system, and provided training, advice, and guidance on intensive care to a total of more than 2,500 medical personnel in 11 countries remotely.
Effective new corona countermeasures were advanced because of a long-standing cooperative relationship.
One of the countries that has benefited from Japan’s long-standing cooperation in the health care sector and its efforts under this initiative to take prompt and sustained action against novel coronavirus infections is Ghana, Africa.
When the epidemic first began (March-June 2020), the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (Noguchi Lab), established in 1979 with Japanese cooperation, was responsible for 80% of PCR testing in Ghana. The Noguchi Institute has been conducting research on infectious diseases and fostering the development of medical personnel. The support for research on infectious diseases and the training of medical personnel enabled the institute to immediately begin work on the development of a testing system and other measures during the chaotic period immediately following the outbreak of new coronavirus infection.
We have heard from local medical personnel that they do not know what would have happened in Ghana in response to the new coronavirus infection if it had not been for the Center for Advanced Infectious Disease Research. The fact that we have always been prepared for health crises, such as life-threatening infectious disease outbreaks, helped us respond to this emergency.
Ms. Maki Ozawa (currently in JICA’s Human Development Division), a former JICA Ghana Office staff member who struggled with local officials on the front lines of the new corona outbreak at the time, recalls.
Noguchi Lab has also been working to improve the PCR testing system in Ghana, and now has more than 20 facilities that can perform the tests. Noguchi Lab also provides support to neighboring countries in West Africa, including training of laboratory technicians, and the know-how developed at Noguchi Lab has led to the creation of preparedness systems for health crises in the region at large.
Local staff members prepare for PCR testing at the Noguchi Institute’s Center for Advanced Infectious Diseases (both top and bottom photos).
Japan ranks second in the world in the amount of support provided to developing countries to fight new strains of coronas.
Japan ranks second only to Germany in the amount of support provided to developing countries by OECD member countries to fight new coronavirus outbreaks (2020-2021). JICA has been supporting measures taken by developing countries to combat the disease.
Amount of support related to novel coronavirus (actual support for information and communication, education and awareness raising, prevention and testing, treatment and care systems, and vaccine dissemination for novel coronavirus infection) Source: https://www.oecd.org/dac/financing- sustainable-development/development-finance-standards/ODA-2021-summary.pdf
“JICA has provided a wide range of support, from emergency assistance such as the provision of necessary equipment and materials immediately after the outbreak of new coronavirus infection, to remote support for advanced medical services, training of medical personnel, and awareness-raising activities to prevent infectious diseases in communities, including promotion of hand-washing, during the prolonged outbreak. JICA’s Global Healthcare Initiative has played a highly significant role in providing tailor-made assistance to meet the needs of each country, based on detailed local information.
So says Tomohiko Sugishita, a visiting professor at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, who has served as a JICA international cooperation specialist and advisor on global health in more than 30 countries. For many years, he has been involved in cooperating with health care systems in developing countries, providing technical support for JICA’s cooperation projects in the field of health care, and disseminating information both domestically and internationally.
Tomohiko Sugishita, visiting professor at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, responding to an online interview.
Looking ahead to the post-Corona period, Mr. Sugishita says the following.
“Medical professionals in Uganda say, ‘The biggest challenge in the new coronavirus outbreak has been the lack of funding and human resources.’ This is actually not different from the situation before the coronavirus disaster. The vulnerability of the health care system, which is not well developed in developing countries, was exposed in the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection. In order to cope with emergencies such as this one, it is essential to strengthen health care systems from normal times.
In order to protect lives and health, comprehensive support is needed not only for healthcare services, but also to secure safe water, improve sanitation and hygiene, and improve living and nutritional conditions. Mr. Sugishita points out for the future that accumulating the usual things that are taken for granted is far more effective than support aimed at responding to a pandemic.
Based on the experience of the new coronavirus infection, there is now active discussion in Japan and abroad to establish an international cooperative and collaborative framework to globally respond to the crisis of a new infectious disease pandemic and to take the necessary preparations. Global Healthcare Initiative and contribute to the creation of a society that can protect the lives and health of all people.
© Source JICA
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