Delivered by Mr. Yohei Sasakawa,

President of The Nippon Foundation

　

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen.

　　It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome you to Tokyo and to the First International Meeting on Essential Drugs and Community Health Systems.

My father, the late Ryoichi Sasakawa, firmly believed that “The World is One Family, All Mankind are Brothers and Sisters.” In fact, this was the guiding principle that inspired him to devote his life to the alleviation of suffering, the encouragement of human potential, and to the promotion of international understanding towards a world of peace. In 1962, my father created the Sasakawa Foundation (now The Nippon Foundation) because he was convinced that a private, non-profit organization would be free to act, unimpeded by the political, ideological, racial and religious considerations that often stand in the way of efficiency and timeliness; such an organization would be the best instrument through which steps could be taken toward the fulfillment of his objectives.

　　These last thirty-three years have seen my father's grand scheme justified time and again. The contributions The Nippon Foundation has been able to make in such areas as education, rural development, cultural exchange, emergency relief, environmental protection, and of course health care, has strengthened our confidence in the effectiveness of our institution and the attainability of our goals.

　　Given the nature of our corporate ambitions, it is only natural that The Nippon Foundation take a special interest in health issues, manifest in such projects as leprosy elimination, scholarships for medical education, and medical attention for the victims of Chernobyl. This interest, however, became a solid commitment when we launched the Essential Drugs Project in 1993.

　　The Essential Drugs Project is an ongoing effort to assist countries where social or economic conditions have resulted in seriously inadequate health care, characterized in particular by shortages of essential medicines. This is an issue first addressed by the Bamako Initiative, spearheaded by UNICEF. The Nippon Foundation found the concept of revolving drug funds to be excellent, but in the form of the Bamako Initiative, not always easily implemented across the vast differences between countries in need of it. This was an opportunity for us to put to good use some of what we were able to learn from some of our own projects; programs such as Sasakawa Global 2000, which encourages self-sufficiency in staple food production in Africa, allowed us to acquire knowledge in community involvement and in how to best apply our flexibility. With these strengths, we believed we could not only support UNICEF's work, but also add to and fortify the mission to fulfill every human being's right to sufficient health care.

　　It is our pleasure to sponsor this meeting on essential drugs and community health systems, which is a forum where the independent efforts and experiences of UNICEF, WHO, the national health ministries, and all other players can be gathered and shared.

　　We hope that this conference will facilitate cooperation among all parties concerned, and that the resulting reports will be something each party can take back to their respective countries and agencies as tools of rejuvenation. To this end, I encourage everyone to engage each other, to inquire and to debate so that all important issues can be aired and new insights revealed.

　　Thank you all for coming so far to attend this conference; your dedication to your work is truly admirable. And of course, I must express my deep gratitude to Dr. Umenai of the University of Tokyo; without his leadership and initiative we would not be here today.

　　As a final word, I would like to say that The Nippon Foundation has come a long way since 1962, and our achievements in health care are something of which we are very proud. There is, however, no end to the road we travel, so we resolve to hold true to our course, reaching out to out friends and partners so that, together, we can go even faster and farther into a brighter future.

Thank you.