On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the second lecture of the JICA Chair was held jointly with the University of the West Indies (UWI) MONA Campus. The main participants included about 100 UWI faculty members, students (from the Department of Political Science and other departments), and exchange students. Professor Kayo Takuma (Tokyo Metropolitan University, Graduate School of Law, Political Science) gave a lecture on “Transformation of Global Health Governance and Japan’s Role in It”, which was followed by a lively Q&A session with the participants. A lively Q&A session followed.
Seminar Opening
Opening remarks from Heather Ricketts, Dean of Social Sciences and Suzette Haughton, Chair of the Department of Public Administration
Based on the discussions with the University and the results of the previous online lecture with UWI as JICA Chair, the Dean of the Faculty of Sociology expressed his strong interest and intention to strengthen cooperation with the University, including enhancement of the JICA Chair program. The Dean of the Faculty of Sociology commented that this theme is timely and linked to Goals 16 and 17 of the SDGs.
The lecture, entitled “Transformation of Global Health Governance and Japan’s role in it,” focused on the historical characteristics and transformation of global health governance and Japan’s role in it. The lecture was divided into three parts, with the first part focusing on the historical characteristics of global health governance (competing social and biomedical approaches, political involvement, and the role of non-state actors) and Japan’s historical involvement in international health, and the second part focusing on the structural transformation of global health governance in the wake of the new coronary disease. In the third part, he explained the current situation of increasing cooperation among regional units and volunteer countries in response to the layering of governance, and explained the role of Japan, the potential for intra-regional health cooperation, and the possibility of cooperation between Jamaica and Japan. He explained the role of Japan, the possibility of intra-regional health cooperation, and the potential for cooperation between Jamaica and Japan. During the Q&A session that followed, a lively discussion ensued, with questions being asked about the impact of the new coronary pandemic on Japanese politics and the impact of politics in each country on the establishment of systems such as Japan’s universal health care system.
Closing, Future Initiatives Closing Remarks by Professor Johnson Closing remarks were given by Professor Takuma, acknowledging the lecture and mentioning that this lecture would be an opportunity to further deepen future cooperation between the Asian region, including Japan, and Latin America.
Future Initiatives
This was the second JICA Chair after a one-year absence, following the university’s high evaluation of the previous online JICA Chair (lectured by former Director Kayashima on the theme of “Education”).
After matching and coordinating JICA’s proposal for Japanese resources with the university’s request, the theme of “Health Governance” by Professor Komama was selected, which was timely given the ongoing Corona disaster. The face-to-face lectures had a considerable impact.
For the students of the Department of Government in the Faculty of Social Sciences, this course was set as part of their credit acquisition, and we were able to hear the enthusiastic attitude of the university and the students.
We have also agreed with the university to utilize the SDGs Global Leader Program, and we hope that the university’s human resource development in the field of “international politics” and other areas will lead to the development of exchange relations between the university and Japanese universities in the near future, as well as the continued development of JICA chairs from the next round.
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