> JAPANESE

Please share brief background on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for a lay audience.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership funded by governments, including Japan, businesses and philanthropists with a mission to save children’s lives and protect people’s health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries.

Since our inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunize over half a billion children against deadly diseases and our work with vaccine manufacturers has reduced the price of vaccines by 90%. Gavi now purchases vaccines for 60% of the world’s children in nearly 70 of the world’s poorest countries.

Gavi’s new five year strategy, running from 2016 to 2020, means we will continue to roll out new vaccines but also focus on reaching the ‘fifth child’ – the 20% of children of worldwide who are still not getting basic vaccines. The issue with this fifth child is that they are not standing next to the other four. To reach them will require innovation and real-time learning and feedback. By doing this we are building the base for Universal Health Coverage.

What is Japan’s role in the Gavi Alliance today (the Japanese government and Japanese pharma), and why is it important?

Japan is a hugely important partner for Gavi, both financially and politically. It began to contribute to Gavi in 2011, providing $53.7 between 2011 and 2015. At our last replenishment conference in 2015 Japan doubled its contribution, pledging nearly $100 million over five years. The Japanese government has also given Gavi strong political backing, for instance by making a reference to Gavi in the G7 Leaders’ Declaration.

The Japanese pharmaceutical industry has the potential to play a significant role in producing life-saving vaccines for the world’s poorest countries, and we will be working closely with them over the coming years to help realize this potential. But we think the Japanese private sector could play an even greater role—not just in manufacturing vaccines, but also producing medical devices such as syringes and cold chain equipment to support the Gavi model.

What has been Japan’s role in global health leadership over the past 10 years?

Japan has played a very important role in global health by keeping a focus on global health security and infectious diseases. This started back at the 2000 Kyushu-Okinawa G8 Summit, where the then-Japanese Prime Minister pushed forward for infectious disease support, including commitment for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Japan has continued to play a leadership with contributions to help combat Ebola and the country’s continuing support for Gavi.

Japan’s focus on universal health coverage has also been important. For me, one of the critical issues in trying to get our vaccines out is that we are trying to reach everybody in the world. Of course, the people that are not being reached with vaccines are the ones who have no access to health services. Therefore, efforts to deliver vaccines and Japan’s priority on universal health coverage are key to individuals ultimately being able to access other health services as well.

Looking ahead to the next 5-10 years, what do you think Japan’s role in global health should be?

Japan has done some extraordinary things in health. I think there are many lessons it can teach the rest of the world. For example, Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world, and its best practices will serve as important guides as the entire globe experiences major demographic changes. The challenge is going to be in translating and personalizing the lessons and mindset to other countries.

Additionally, Japan has made high-tech and health innovation suitable for patients throughout the world. I think Japan will continue to contribute breakthroughs in technologies with more and more applications in the developing world.

The affiliations and positions listed in this interview are at the time of publication of the interview in 2017.