20 August 2025 - 20 August 2025
Advancing UHC: Celebrating Japanese and African leadership to eliminate NTDs
Date: August 20, 2025, 18:00-19:30 JST
Duration: 90 minutes
Hosts: AUDA-NEPAD,SDGs Promise Japan, DNDI and Uniting to Combat NTDs
Location: Yokohama city, Kanagawa, Japan
This dynamic workshop will spotlight the shared commitment of Japan and African
nations to achieve UHC through the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Co-hosted by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), SDG Promise
Japan and Uniting to Combat NTDs, the session will bring together African
development leaders, Japanese parliamentarians, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, youth advocates from Japan and Africa, global leaders in innovation and
research, and policymakers to share their vision on how to eliminate NTDs by 2030. It
will highlight Japan’s longstanding support for global health equity and Africa’s bold
progress in eliminating infectious diseases.
Together, we will explore strategies to build resilient, inclusive and integrated health
systems and accelerate collective action to ensure no one is left behind.
To register for this event please click here.
Meet Our Speakers
Professor Francisca Mutapi
Professor Francisca Mutapi, Uniting Vice Chair, will be chairing and acting as Master of Ceremony for the event.
Professor Mutapi is Professor of Global Health Infection and Immunity at the University of Edinburgh, Deputy Director of the TIBA (Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa) Partnership, and co-Director of the Global Health Academy. She works with the WHO and governments across Africa to shape national and global NTD policies, with her research influencing programmes that have improved the lives of millions.
H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas
CEO; African Union Development Agency, AUDA NEPAD
H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas will be providing the keynote address.
H.E Nardos Bekele-Thomas is the first woman to lead the African Union's development agency and was previously the Senior Director of the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, and has also served as Resident Coordinator for the United Nations in South Africa and as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya and Benin.
Hon. Ayano Kunimitsu
Member, House of Representatives
Secretary General, Diet Task Force for Eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases
Hon Kunimitsu is a medical Doctor, member of the Committee on Health, Labour and Welfare, Member of the Special Committee on Reconstruction after Great East Japan Earthquake, Member of the Committee on Audit and Oversight of Administration, Member of the Diet Affairs Committee and Deputy Director-General for Women's Affairs Division. She has an interest in Comprehensive Medical and Long-Term Health Care, Child Rearing Support and Work Style Reform.
Dr Shinichi Kitaoka
Special Advisor to the President of the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA), former President of JICA, Emeritus Professor of the
University of Tokyo, Honorary Chair of SDGs Promise Japan
Dr Kitaoka is former President of JICA and of the International University of Japan, Emeritus Professor at the University of Tokyo, and Honorary Chair of SDGs Promise Japan. A leading scholar of Japanese politics and diplomacy, he has also served as Japan’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Dr. Osamu Kuni
CEO, Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT)
Dr. Osamu Kunii is CEO and Executive Director at the GHIT Fund. He previously worked for the global fund and has a background as an internal medicine physician.
GHIT is an international public-private partnership fund for global health R&D that mobilizes Japanese industry, academia, and research institutes to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria, TB and NTDs. They were
GHIT are the driving force behind the development of Pederastic Praziquantel and have a mycetoma drug – Fosravuconazole – under regulatory submission to be released in Sudan. They also have Leishmaniasis, LF and Oncho drugs in development.
Dr. Elizabeth Juma
Team Lead; Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), WHO Regional Office for Africa
With over 20 years of experience in malaria control and elimination, Dr Juma has worked
extensively as a clinical research scientist, programme officer, and technical director and advisor for initiatives at both national and international levels.
Dr. Hideo Suzuki
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador for Global Health, Japan
Dr Suzuki has served in various Japanese missions as a diplomat, including France, the
Permanent Mission to the OECD, the United States of America, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and the Czech Republic. At the Ministry headquarters, he has held the posts of Assistant Minister for International Cooperation as well as Ambassador for Global Issues such as climate change. He holds a law degree from the University of Tokyo and currently holds among others the position as Japan’s ambassador for Global Health.
Dr. Luis Pizarro
Executive Director, DNDi
Dr Luis Pizarro has led the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) since September 2022, and is a medical doctor. He also serves as founder and member of the Global Health 2030 think tank, as scientific advisor for Global Health at Sciences Po Paris, and as board member of Sidaction. Having led medical projects for several years in West Africa, he became the first CEO of Solthis, from 2007 to 2019, successfully developing the international health and solidarity organization to become one of the leaders in health in West and Central Africa. In 2020, Dr Pizarro joined Unitaid’s leadership team during the COVID crisis to lead the international organization’s HIV portfolio and related access programmes.
Dr. Fatima Elbasri
Medical Doctor, UN Youth Fellow, and YCNTDs Youth Champion in Sudan
Dr Fatima Elbasri is a graduate doctor from Khartoum University, Sudan and is passionate about global health research, neglected diseases, and youth participation in decision-making. She has held several leadership roles, including External Affairs Regional Assistant for Africa at IFMSA (2021-2024) and various public health coordinator positions in Sudanese medical networks.
She coordinated over 16 global health activities, including award-winning COVID-19 and
diabetes mental health projects. She has been working with Youth Combatting NTDs for a year and was instrumental in gaining Sudan’s endorsement of the Kigali Declaration.
