Greetings from the Director General

Bureau of Global Health Cooperation, Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS), is a leading organization concerning global health in Japan. We carry out various activities based on our mission: "Aiming to realize a world where all people have equal opportunity to lead a healthy life, the Bureau provides support around the world, including low- and middle-income countries, to improve health care using our expertise and contributes to creating healthier lives for the people of the world by bringing these experiences back to Japan."

In order to realize this mission, we also defined our vision as follows: “With the goal of creating a healthy society that ‘leave no one behind‘, we strive to become one of the leading organizations in the field of global health.”

To fulfill our mission and realize our vision, we set five strategies and five priority themes to guide our areas. As a group of specialist in the field of global health, we will continue to collaborate with a wide range of partners including government and related agencies such as the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO); universities, research institutions, and professional societies; as well as non-governmental organizations and private sectors. Under such collaborations, we will dispatch experts for technical cooperation activities, contribute to policy formulations, conduct research, train domestic and overseas health professionals, and promote innovative programs.

Recently in the global community in the post-COVID-19 era, we are continuously facing complex public health emergencies, including communicable diseases, climate change, disasters, and so forth. Resilient systems are essential to accurately predict and adequately prepare for such risks before they occur for the future. COVID-19 pandemic also marked a notable change in the field of global health and shook the health systems that are the cornerstone of universal health coverage (UHC)*. With the unforgettable lessons learned, we must consider and act to improve our response to future health crises.

In April 2025, National Center for Global Health and Medicine reborn by merging with the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and became Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS). Furthermore, Bureau of Global Health Cooperation will celebrate its 40th anniversary in October 2026. By making use of our experiences in the field of global health, we will continue to leverage our tracking record to build more resilient health systems towards achieving UHC, for realizing a sustainable and diverse society where “no one is left behind.”

I thank you for your kind support and cooperation.

  
August 2026

Dr. Munehito Machida

Director General, Bureau of Global Health Cooperation,
Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS)

*UHC: The goal that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship (WHO)