We are pleased to announce that Dr. Osamu Kunii has joined the GHIT Fund today, on March 1, 2022. The following is a greeting from Dr. Kunii on his arrival.

As the CEO and the Executive Director of the GHIT Fund, I am delighted to be working with domestic and international partners to advance products development and access for malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases. Thanks to our trusted partnership worldwide, we continue leveraging our achievements to date in R&D and access and further the existing collaborative framework and opportunities.  These partnerships will also enable us to maximize the bigger impacts for neglected patients. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, groundbreaking innovation through cross-border and public-private-academia partnerships has saved millions of lives worldwide. Yet, people continue to suffer from malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, in part because it has become more difficult to access necessary healthcare and medicine. The result has been an increase in infections and deaths from neglected diseases in some countries and regions. 

We must remember that even in a pandemic, we have to walk the talk together with the international community to meet SDG target 3.3, which commits to ending epidemics of other existing infectious diseases. 

As such, at GHIT, we will continue to strengthen our existing programs, catalyze unconventional strategic partnerships, and accelerate innovations to develop lifesaving tools to reach the world's neglected people. And we will work to create an environment that will allow Japan to proactively engage in global health programs. Through dialogues with our partners and stakeholders, we will further solidify our strategies and plans for GHIT 3.0 (FY 2023-2027). 

I look forward to seeing as many partners as possible and working with all of them and new partners to make a sustainable society where no one is left behind. 

Dr. Osamu Kunii, CEO and Executive Director, GHIT Fund