DELIVERED BY REIZO UTAGAWA, MANAGING TRUSTEE OF THE NIPPON FOUNDATION

　

　Ladies and Gentlemen,

　

　Early this morning, we took a bus into the Vietnamese countryside. With goodwill and comradeship, we visited, inspected, and were impressed by Vietnam's RDF Project. Having shared such a morning, I think I can put aside formalities and speak to you frankly and warmly as friends.

　The Nippon Foundation's long-standing commitment to health issues comes from a belief that good health is a great gift to humankind as a whole. Freedom from illness allows us to work harder, think more deeply and creatively, and in general lead more productive and joyful lives. It also allows us to think and care about others, which surely is one of the first steps to world peace.

　Today, we have the knowledge to prevent of fight illnesses that have haunted the history of humankind. Diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhea have been all but eradicated in some parts of the world such as Japan. In most parts of the world, however, even relatively simple illnesses like food poisoning can still threaten millions. This is because of the scarcity of medicines, the slow spread of know-how and the absence of effective primary health care systems.

　Happily, in the countries represented here today, there has been great effort and effect in improving this situation.

　In 1993, The Nippon Foundation formed a partnership with UNICEF and the national health ministries of Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and later Cambodia. The purpose of the partnership was to apply the ideas of the Bamako Initiative as a way of strengthening primary health care in these countries. The Foundation expected that donations of essential drugs would be followed by implementation processes as elegant and simple as the revolving drug fund concept, itself. It was soon evident that different implementation environments presented different problems, and that each project country would sooner or later have to be left to adapt the project to its own priorities and conditions.

　Despite the great variation in implementation strategies and pace, every single one of the project countries represented here today can now boast of RDFs. I congratulate each and every one of you responsible for this great achievement and graduation to the next stage of implementation. Even in the slowest starting countries, the RDF Project has improved primary health care for not less than 100,000 people, and project beneficiaries in total now number in the millions. The Nippon Foundation's original objective of introducing RDFs to stimulate the development of primary health care systems has been more than satisfied.

　I so often heard the words "launch" and "take off" used in relation to the RDF Project, that I came to see the project in each country as five distinct satellites. The Nippon Foundation, in my mind , acted as the rocket boosters that would launch the satellites into space...then fall away. Now that the concept of RDFs has been fully absorbed and is being implemented at a healthy pace, it is clear that the individual country projects have all "attained orbit." The time is ripe for each country to increase reliance on its own national resources and initiative, and free itself from outside constraints. The result will be a smoother and more rapid project evolution that freely adapts to local conditions and needs.

　Once a country is in full control of its own RDF implementation, it can invite the participation and support of new donors and advisors on its own terms. The timing could not be better. As we speak, more and more national governments, international agencies, NGOs, and grantmakers are turning to the idea of revolving drug funds for boosting public health programs. This current interest facilitates the identification of potential new partners.

　In the two days we have before us, let each country take stock of what its RDF project has accomplished, and identify what it will need to do to maintain the momentum of strengthening health care systems. Each country must decide its next steps with care and commitment during this graduation to self-sustainability.

　The Nippon Foundation looks forward to seeing each country project launched on new independent courses for primary health care development.

　On this momentous day of graduation, before I leave the podium, I want to express our appreciation to: Vice-Minister of Health Professor Le Van Truyen; Dr. Ngo Van Hop, Director of the International Cooperation Department; Dr. Pham Ngoc Len, UNICEF Project Officer; and to all MOH and UNICEF staff here in Hanoi. Your efforts are evident in the wonderful organization of this event. Thank you for receiving us so graciously and for sharing with us the lessons of the RDF Project in Vietnam.

　And of course, I must once again acknowledge our debt to our fearless project leader, Dr. Takusei Umenai of the University of Tokyo.

　Thank you.