Industry Unites for Universal Health Coverage Forum 2017

“Universal health coverage is an excellent investment of our resources.” 
— Haruhiko Hirate, Chair of the International Affairs Committee, JPMA

On December 12, the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) and Access Accelerated hosted a side event at the 2017 Universal Health Coverage Forum in Tokyo. The two-hour event, “Accelerating Sustainable UHC by Improving Access to NCD Care,” explored the power collaboration between the public and private sectors has to accelerate access to NCD care and help achieve universal health coverage.

The event featured keynote speeches from Hiroki Nakatani, Professor for Global Initiatives at Keio University, and Tim Evans, Senior Director of Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group. Both speakers then joined an in-depth panel discussion about the value of partnerships and knowledge sharing in increasing access to NCD treatment and care, and how these efforts support the fight for universal health coverage.

Panelists included:

• Hiroki Nakatani, Professor for Global Initiatives at Keio University
• Hiroyuki Hori, Senior Coordinator for Global Health at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan
• Tim Evans, Senior Director of the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice at the World Bank Group
• Hideyuki Akaza, Director of the Union for International Cancer Control Asia Regional Office
• Norihiro Kokudo, President of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine
• Justine Hibbert, Chair of the Communications Working Group for Access Accelerated

Capturing the hope both speakers and audience members felt to tackle the challenges ahead, Tim Evans concluded: “When you have worked in health for as long as I have, you see the glass half full or half empty, and if you look at challenges as opportunities rather than constraints, the glass is certainly half full.”

Continue following the conversation at the 2017 Universal Health Coverage Forum through December 15 on Twitter by using the hashtags:#UHCForum and #HealthForAll.