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 Home > News & Policies > July 2008

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 8, 2008

Joint Fact Sheet: U.S.-Japan Cooperation on African Health and Food Security Challenges

     Fact sheet G8 Summit 2008

On July 6, President Bush met with Prime Minister Fukuda at Toyako, in Hokkaido, Japan. This was their second meeting since Prime Minister Fukuda took office last fall.

In their meeting, the two leaders continued to build on the strong alliance between the United States and Japan and agreed to work closely together to tackle critical African health and food security challenges.

The United States And Japan Pledged To Cooperate On Key Health Challenges

  • Health Workers: President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda identified health worker training and workforce development in certain African countries to be a high priority over the next five years, with the aim of working toward the World Health Organization’s threshold goal of 2.3 health workers per 1,000 people. As announced previously, the United States will be working through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to support health worker training in a number of African countries. Japan will train 100,000 health workers in Africa over five years, as announced at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV).

  • Polio: President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda resolved to work closely together and with the G-8 and other partners to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. These efforts will include increased advocacy for countries to complete the job of stopping polio transmission in endemic countries, re-infected countries and polio-free countries; encouraging routine immunizations to reduce the number of susceptible children; and sustaining certification-level surveillance.

  • Malaria: President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda reiterated their commitment to cooperating on reducing malaria-related deaths through such measures as expanding access to long-lasting insecticide-treated nets in Africa. As major donors to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United States and Japan both encourage their G-8 partners to fulfill past promises to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in the 30 highest-burden countries in Africa. In partnering with other stakeholders, the United States and Japan will work to encourage local manufacturing of high-quality mosquito nets and to promote the distribution and use of those nets, especially to children under five and pregnant women.

  • Neglected Tropical Diseases: President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda committed to reducing the burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). As announced in February 2008, the United States program will work over five years to fight the seven diseases that can be addressed through mass drug administration. Japan will continue to tackle NTDs through such measures as enhancing access to safe water and sanitation, as well as technical assistance to raise awareness, building on its past achievements in this area.

The United States And Japan Will Work Together To Enhance Food Security

  • President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda committed the United States and Japan to work together in support of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), in key countries where our programs can mutually reinforce each other and achieve measurable results. The key countries will include Ghana, Senegal, and Mali, and this effort will involve working in regional partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Our programs will jump-start a significant supply response by working toward the goal of doubling production of key food staples including rice in Sub-Saharan Africa and by assisting with inputs such as fertilizer and seeds. We will also support the development of key trade and transport corridors necessary to sustain trade in food staples and inputs. The United States and Japan will also work together in various fora, including the World Trade Organization, to urge the removal of policies that hinder food security, such as restrictions on exports. We will also work with our G-8 partners in this effort.

  • President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda also noted the importance of small and medium size enterprises in Africa and confirmed their support for African entrepreneurs, particularly in the agribusiness sector, by stressing the need to provide increased access to capital, business development skills, as well as the need for accelerated policy and market-based reforms at both the country level and in sub-regional organizations.

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