The government of Japan announced today that Japan will host the Global Fund’s Replenishment Preparatory Meeting in Tokyo on December 17, 2015. Speaking at a symposium at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphasized Japan’s continuous support for the Global Fund since its creation and his commitment to convening the meeting in December. He also announced Japan’s latest disbursement of $190 million to the Global Fund for 2015. The meeting—the first of its kind in Asia—is a key opportunity for Global Fund stakeholders to discuss the resources that the fund needs to raise in its next replenishment round in order to step up its efforts now that an end to the AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics is considered a real possibility. Donors, implementing countries, NGOs, and other partners will gather in Tokyo to discuss resource needs, new opportunities, and strategies for amplifying the Global Fund’s life-saving impact around the world. The meeting is an important step toward the Replenishment Pledging Conference that is planned for mid-2016.
One day prior to the Global Fund meeting, on December 16, JCIE, in collaboration with other key partners, will organize a conference on “Achieving the Grand Convergence: Universal Health Coverage in the New Development Era.” Taking place mere months after the new development agenda is expected to be adopted by the international community at the UN General Assembly in September, the conference will convene global health experts from around the world to talk about the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda and ways to ensure that equity remains a central focus of that agenda. In particular, the conference will build on the current global momentum toward universal health coverage (UHC) and explore the role of UHC in achieving a healthier world in the coming decades.
These two meetings come at an opportune time as Japan prepares to host the G7 Summit in 2016, and discussions at the meetings will help inform global health-related discussions at the summit.
To read Prime Minister Abe’s statement: http://japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/statement/201503/ununiv.html
Global Fund press release: https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/2015-03-16-japan-to-host-key-global-fund-meeting/