Yamaguchi urges continued battle against disease at African aid meeting pre-event

August 23 , 2022

Yamaguchi addressed a TICAD8 pre-event held in Tokyo on Aug. 22Yamaguchi addressed a TICAD8 pre-event held in Tokyo on Aug. 22

On August 22, Komeito Chief Representative Natsuo Yamaguchi spoke at a pre-event to the 2022 Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) to be hosted by the Tunisian Republic on August 27-28. The pre-event was organized by advocacy NGO Results Japan in Tokyo.

He noted that while the world came together in the fight against the covid pandemic, work to eradicate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria had to take a backseat, and that the latter should be prioritized going forward. The Komeito leader emphasized his party’s commitment to human security, and one vital way for Japan to contribute to human security in Africa, he said, was to help finance the Global Fund, which seeks to defeat the three aforementioned diseases.

The Japanese government launched TICAD in 1993 with the aim “to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners” in conjunction with the UN Office of the Special Advisor on Africa and UN Development Programme. Originally held in Japan every five years, it was moved to a rotation cycle between Japan and host African nation every three years.