The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund), in collaboration with the Friends of the Global Fund, Japan (FGFJ), will hold a public seminar, "Game Changers: Japanese Innovation in Combatting Infectious Diseases" on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The seminar will convene on the occasion of a visit to Japan by Mr. Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund).

Ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria is one of the objectives set forth in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The COVID-19 pandemic and challenging operating environments due to conflicts, crises, and natural/climate disasters, have triggered the reversal of progress against these diseases and we need to get back on track to achieve the SDGs target by 2030. An important key to this is new technologies that will be “game changers.” Whether it is more effective ways to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases, diagnostics that more accurately and easily detect infections, more effective and appropriate treatments, or means to strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain, innovations in technology will bring about products that are different from what we have seen in the past and can significantly change the course of the fight against infectious diseases.

In this seminar, the executive director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands, and a representative from Unitaid will introduce the challenges that need to be solved in the fight against infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries and the process by which the needed products reach the people on the ground. This will be followed by a panel discussion in which Mr. Sands will be joined by the CEO of the GHIT Fund, Dr. Osamu Kunii, as well as Japanese business leaders and researchers to talk about the current status and potential of product development and discuss ways to accelerate innovation from Japan.

EVENT DETAILS

Date and Time:

　Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 16:00-18:00 JST (UTC+9)

Co-organizers:

　Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)

　Friends of the Global Fund, Japan (FGFJ)

　Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund)

Format:

　Hybrid in-person and online participation

In-Person Venue:

　Sirius, Garden Court Banquet Floor (5F), Hotel New Otani Tokyo

　(4-1 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8578)

　*Please note that registration for on-site participation will be closed upon reaching full capacity.

　**Doors will open at 15:30 JST

Online:

　To be live streamed on YouTube

Languages:

　Japanese and English (simultaneous interpretation available)

Participation fee: Free

　Registration: To register, click here

　https://pco-prime.com/form/gamechangers_seminar/en/

　*pre-registration is required

Speakers: (to be updated, titles omitted)

Program (as of February 14, 2023, content is subject to change without notice)

　◇Opening session

　　Opening remarks

　　Akio Okawara, President & CEO, JCIE; Director, FGFJ

　　Welcome remarks

　　Ichiro Aisawa, Member, House of Representatives; Co-Chair, FGFJ Advisory Board and Diet Task Force

　　Talk session

　　Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

　　Mihoko Kashiwakura, Head of East Asia Relations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

　　Remarks

　　Keiichi Hara, Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA); Board Member of the Global Fund; Board Member of Unitaid

　　Video message

　　Carmen Pérez Casas, Senior technical manager, Strategy team, Unitaid

　◇Panel discussion (as of Feb. 14, 2023, content is subject to change without notice)

　　Osamu Kunii, CEO, GHIT Fund (moderator)

　　Yosuke Kaneko, Founder & CEO, SORA Technology

　　Shigeyuki Kano, Director, Department of Tropical Medicine and Malaria, Research Institute, National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM)

　　Seiya Kato, Director, Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (JATA)

　　Masanori Kawasaki, Global Project Leader, Anti-Tuberculosis Project, Pharmaceutical Division, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

　　Yoshihiro Okada, General Manager, In Vitro Diagnostics Div, FUJIFILM Corporation

　　Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

　　Closing remarks

　　Tetsuya Itani, Director of the International Health and Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

MC: Hiromi Kawano, Program Associate, JCIE

Inquiries: Please contact the seminar secretariat at

Email:gamechangers_seminar@pco-prime.com