Issued in

2024

BHN Association
Telecom for Basic Human Needs

Annual Report FY 2023

Telecom for Basic Human Needs

1

About BHN Association
Headed by top leaders in the ICT industry in Japan, the BHN Association (BHN) was established in 1992
as a non-governmental organization specializing in ICT*. BHN commenced its first support activity forpeople afflicted by the catastrophic disaster at Chernobyl (1992-94) constructing a 120km microwave link
between Obninsk and Moscow and implementing a medical information system and TV conference
system for hospitals. Since then, we have continued our efforts to realize our vision of everyone in theworld, regardless of their environment or situation, having access to necessary information and creating asociety that provides safety and security for all people.
BHN stands for basic human needs, that is, fundamental requirements to be satisfied for a person to live a
decent life. Securing food, clothing, and shelter have traditionally been thought of as the three essential
components required to meet the requirements of basic human needs. However, at the present time, we
could say that gaining access to ICT also constitutes a part of these requirements.
The activities of BHN are performed mostly by volunteer experts – experienced, skillful ICT engineers
and specialists. BHN mobilizes its human capital such as knowledge, experience, skill and human
networks to carry out a variety of projects. In order to deliver the best result to local communities, we
collaborate with local actors such as people, communities, partner organizations and governmental
agencies. BHN deploys activities in three major areas – (1) Social Development, (2) Emergency Relief,and (3) Human Resource Development.
*ICT=Information and Communication Technology
The fundamental importance of ICT infrastructures as an essential element in economic and social development
was recognized at United Nations Assembly in 1981.

Profile of BHN
Name
What is BHN?
Address
Establishment
Members
Organization

Operating Expenses

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BHN Association

BHN Association“BHN” stands for “Basic Human Needs” which are indispensable for humanlife such as clothing, food and shelter. We believe that “information” could be
an important part of “BHN”.
NTT Ueno Bldg., 5-24-11 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan 110-0005
September 1992 (Voluntary Organization)
September 1999 (Non-profit Organization)
March 2010 (Certified Non-profit Organization)
Corporations: 44, Individuals: 223 (As of March 2024)
Chairperson: Makoto YAMASHITA
President: Hideo INOU
Secretary General: Takeshi TOMINO
Board Members: 38（Executive Directors:36, Auditors:2）
Full-time Staff: 4
Part-time Staff/Volunteers: about 80 (including overseas staff)
131M JPY (about 0.85M USD)

(FY2023)

BHN’s Aims and Activities by Region
BHN’s Aims are illustrated below.

What BHN is aiming for＜Vision＞
We aim for everyone in the world
regardless of their environment or situation,
to have access to necessary information
and want to create a society that provides
safety and security for all people.

＜Mission＞
By utilizing ICT, we aim to provide safety,
security, and relief for people in developing
countries and disaster areas, improve theirliving environment, and help solve social issues.

＜3 Core Pillars＞(1)
SocialDevelopment(3)
Human Resource
Development(2)
Emergency
Relief1

Over the past six years, a total of 33 projects have been implemented to support local residents, disastervictims, trainees and students in 37 countries and regions as shown in the following map.

Areas of BHN Activities (2017 to 2023)

Mongolia

MexicoUzbekistan
Iran

Afghanistan
Nepal Bhutan

Pakistan

Bangladesh
India MyanmarLao

Senegal

Korea

China

AngolaMaldives

ThailandCambodia

Sri Lanka

MexicoTaiwanVietnamSouth Sudan
Cameroon
Kenya

USA

Japan

Malaysia

Indonesia

Philippines

Palau

Micronesia

Kiribati
Papua New Guinea
TuvaluSamoa
VanuatuSocial Development
Emegency Relief

Human Resouce Development

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Review of BHN’s Operations for FY 2023
[Social Situation]
The Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on New Year's Day, 2024, caused tremendous damage,reminding us that the Japanese archipelago can be struck by a natural disaster at any time. In theinternational situation, the need for humanitarian assistance is becoming more and more urgent, as many
civilians continue to be killed in the turmoil following the military coup in Myanmar, Russia's invasion of
Ukraine, and the military clashes between Israel and Hamas. Under these circumstances, BHN promoted
various support projects and organizational operations to achieve its vision and mission, while placing thesafety of its officers, volunteers, and related personnel as the top priority.

[Summary of Activities]
In FY2023, under the mid-term activity goal of "contributing to the achievement of the SDGs from thestandpoint of an NGO through the use of ICT," BHN developed its projects focusing on the three pillarsof (1) support for improving people's lives, (2) humanitarian assistance in times of emergency, and (3)support for developing people. With the increasing risks of aid activities in Myanmar, until now thelargest recipient of BHN support, we have been working to develop new projects in other countries andregions as a matter of urgency. In addition to the promotion of existing projects, we actively worked on
the development of new projects. In addition, we continued to make efforts to secure new humanresources for the future continuation and development of the organization.

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BHN Association

[Activities for Social Development]
In social development support, projects in the Kayin and Mon states of Myanmar had to be suspended due
to changes in local government policy and the deterioration of the local situation. The project completionhas been postponed until the next fiscal year or later. As for new projects, BHN was commissioned to
implement a project in Rakhine State, Myanmar, for which BHN had applied to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. We expect to implement these two Myanmar projects in earnest after assessing the progress ofregistration with an international NGO (INGO) and the safety situation in the area.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs selected BHN at the end of 2023 FY as an organization to conduct a
project for displaced refugees who have fled from Myanmar to the border area within Thailand, which
will be developed into a full-scale project from 2024 FY onward.
As for Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) projects, the projects in Sri Lanka (C2), Myanmar (C2), andMicronesia (C1), which are currently underway, are in the final stages of completion. As for new APT
projects, BHN was entrusted to carry out a medical ICT project in Micronesia (C2).
Note: APT projects are categorized as C1 and C2. C1 is for feasibility studies for social development andC2 is for pilot projects following C1.

Presentation of remote medicine feasibility study in Micronesia at APT Forum in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia in October 2023

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[Emergency Relief]
BHN provided devices for news gathering and editing, such as cellular phones and PCs to a local
community radio station in Nepal in November in response to the earthquake that struck the country.
Regarding the Noto Peninsula earthquake, BHN established a Hokuriku Office to provide support from a
medium- to long-term perspective.

Devices donated to a local community radio station in Nepal[Human Resource Development]
The Second Semester of the 24th BHN Human Development Program was held in person in Japan andthe First Semester of the 25th Program was organized online in cooperation with Malaysia Multimedia
University (MMU). Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) training was conducted in a hybrid style (inperson classes, online classes, and on-demand classes) in Japan. Lectures of the first and the second
semesters of Dr. Kuwabara’s Donation-Supported Course were conducted in a hybrid style at the
University of Electro-Communications. As for Dr. Kuwabara’s Fund Scholarship Program, the thirdround scholarship recipients are spending their study life in Japan well, and the fourth-round scholarship
recipients were selected.

Dr. Kuwabara (left) and a scholarship student from the third-year intake (right)

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BHN Association

[Organizational Management]
In terms of organizational management, from May 8, 2023, when Corona was reclassified as a Class 5
infectious disease, BHN has decided to leave the methods of COVID-19 prevention to individual
discretion. BHN continued to promote DX and strengthen information security measures. In light of thestate of domestic and global affairs, compliance rules and procedures for security export controls werecreated and went into effect in January 2024.

[Public Relations]
Ongoing activities included posting activity reports and announcements (as appropriate) on the website,
publishing the newsletter "Crossroads" (May and December), publishing the "BHN Member Report"(monthly) in the Tsushin Kogyo Shimbun, newspaper for the telecommunication industry, and holding
online activity briefing sessions (October, March).
In order to conduct PR activities and interact with other organizations, the Tokyo Headquarters exhibitedat GLOBAL FEASTA JAPAN 2023 in September 2023, and the Kansai Office had a booth at the 32nd
One World Festival in February 2024. Kansai Office held a "Lecture and Photo Exhibition" online in
November 2023.
As for new activities, the Backpack Radio Project members appeared on FM Yokohama's "Keep Green &Blue" (May 8-11), and BHN participated in an advertising event for Donation Month by the Mainichi
Newspaper (morning editions for the Tokyo area on November 29 and January 3.)

BHN’s public information magazine, “TELECOM CROSS ROAD

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[Financials]
The FY2023 financial results have turned out to be worse than expected due to the temporary suspension
and extension into the next term of BHN's largest project in Myanmar, as well as a decrease in general
donations.
The results are a regular income of 107,497 thousand yen (25% less than budget), regular expenses of
131,018 thousand yen (31% less than budget), regular profit of -23,521 thousand yen (-23,599 thousand
yen less than budget), and net assets after taxes were -20,211 thousand yen (-20,218 thousand yen lessthan budget).

Ｉｎｃｏｍｅ（FY2023）
total 107 million Yen

Expenditures(FY2023）
total 131 million Yen
Other
2
2%

GS
16
14%
MD
56
52%

AD
49
37%

CS
36
34%

SD
53
41%
HRD
26
20%

in millions JPY

in millions JPY

Grants and Subsidies (GS)Revenue from Contracted Services (CS)Membership Fee/Donation (MD)Social Development (SD)
Emergency Relief (ER)
Human Resource Development (HRD)

Administration (AD)
Other

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BHN Association

ER
0
0%

Appendix

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Activities
I

Social Development

There are a number of underprivileged people whose basic human needs are not being sufficiently met.
BHN supports such people and communities to improve their standard of living and to develop theircapabilities utilizing ICT.

Projects Conducted by BHN（Refer to Table 1.）- Establishment and management of community radio stations for disaster risk reduction andbetterment of rural communities- Electrification of rural habitation with solar power generation- Training for the use and maintenance of ICT systems following installation- Telemedicine networks over the internet for prenatal and postnatal care (perinatal period care)- Telemetering system to monitor river water levels for disaster prevention- Distance learning systems at isolated schools utilizing multimedia technology

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BHN Association

Table 1

Major Social Development Support Activities

No.
Project description
1 Support for victims of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power
Plant accident (Microwave circuit construction fortelemedicine via satellite)
2 Support for wireless network construction for medicalcare centers in rural areas
3 Donation of PBX equipment to hospitals
4 Support for telemedicine systems

County / Area
Russia, Republic of Belarus,
Kazakhstan

Period1992 - 1994

Laos, Afghanistan

1998 - 2007

Myanmar, Ukraine, Afghanistan
Malaysia, Thailand

5
6

Afghanistan
Myanmar1997 - 2003
1999 - 20082010 - 20132004 - 2006
2013 - 2019

Myanmar2013 -

Bangladesh

2013 - 2017

7
8
9

10

11
12

Training in IT skills and wireless technology
Area Information Transmission System (disastermanagement, improving living environment) (anapplication of Japan's Disaster Management
Administration Radio System")
Installation of and training on how to use equipment
related to solar power generation systems (Support forethnic minority returnees, and victims of conflict)
Construction of and training on how to use community
FM broadcasting station
Support for victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake- Emergency Support- Broadcasting stations- ICT support
ICT support in disaster-stricken areas- Earthquake in Kumamoto, Kyushu- Torrential rains in western Japan- Torrential rains in northern Kyushu- Smooth running of community activities andrevitalization of local communities through ICT- Typhoon 15 & 19, in 2019
- Torrential rains in 2020
Disaster risk reduction support and health and hygieneawareness improvement projects in schools andvillages in Gwa Township, Rakhine StateElectric Installation Training and Facility
Improvement Project for Myanmar Displaced Persons
in Tak Province

Japan
Iwate pref.
2011
Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima pref.
2011 - 2014
Ishinomaki, Miyagi pref.
2011 - 2019
Iitate, Fukushima pref.
2011 - 2020
Japan
Kumamoto pref.
2016 - 2023
Hiroshima pref.
2018 - 2023
Asakura, Fukuoka pref.
2018 – 2020
Hiroshima, Miyagi, and Kumamoto2019 pref.
Marumori, Miyagi pref.
2020 - 2022
Kure, Saka and Mihara, Hiroshima pref. 2020 - 2024
Myanmar2020 Thailand

2024 -

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II

Emergency Relief

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones and tsunamis disrupt communities and threaten
people’s lives.
As emergency relief, BHN provides those affected in the devastated areas with ICT support to accesslifeline information and communication networks for quick recovery after disasters.
.
Projects Conducted by BHN（Refer to Table 2）- Community address system to furnish timely indispensable information- Restoration of community radio stations and provision of broadcasting equipment- ICT support – PC, printer and internet access – for local government and residents- Safety confirmation system using satellite phones- Wireless and satellite communication systems as an emergency measure

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BHN Association

Table 2Event
1. Earthquake

No.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
2. Typhoon
CycloneHurricane

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

3. Tsunami

(1)
(2)

4. Refugees

(1)
(2)

County / Area
Taiwan, Turkey

Major Emergency Relief Activities

Description of Supports
Providing radio equipment, free telephoneservices via satellite
India
Communication support for medical teams
Iran
FM broadcasting station equipment,
distribution of radios
PakistanFree telephone services via satellite,
Community Addressing (CA) Systems
Indonesia
Well pump, distribution of radios
Haiti
Community FM broadcasting station
restoration, CA system
Japan
Installation of internet connections t for(3 Prefectures in Tohoku) evacuation shelters, construction andrestoration of temporary disasterbroadcasting stations
Nepal
Construction and restoration of community
FM broadcasting stations
Japan
Community support such as PCs, ICT(Kumamoto Pref)environments, etc. for temporary housing
estatesJapan
Community support such as PCs, ICT(Hokkaido)
environments, etc. for temporary housing
estatesIndonesia (Sulawesi)
Community FM broadcasting station,
distribution of radiosJapan
Community support such as PCs, ICT(Noto Peninsula)environments, etc. for temporary housing
Honduras
Providing communication equipment
MyanmarCommunity Addressing (CA) Systems
the Philippines
CA System, ICT stations
Japan
Community support such as PCs, ICT(Hiroshima Pref)environments, etc. for temporary housing
estatesIndonesia, Sri Lanka
Community FM broadcasting station,
distribution of radios
Japan-Installation of internet connections in(3 Prefectures in Tohoku) temporary housing, operation support, etc.
(Coastal cities in Iwate Prefecture,
Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, etc.)- Construction of an Information Network
for Victims (Iidate Village, Fukushima
Prefecture)- Construction and restoration ofbroadcasting stations, distributing radios(Tohoku 3 prefectures)
Afghanistan
Free telephone service via satellite
Iraq
Medical team communications support

Period
1999
2000
2004
2005
2006, 20092010 - 20142011

2015 - 2016
2016
2018
2018 - 20192024 1998
2008, 20102013 - 2014
2018
2005
2011 - 20122011 - 20122011 - 2012
2002
2003

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III

Human Resource Development

Human Resource Development is a core activity of BHN. We are giving ICT engineers and governmental
officers of ICT departments in developing countries opportunities to learn cutting-edge technologies andtheir applications.

（Refer to Figure 1）

BHN Human Development Program

BHN Human Development Program (the ‘Program’) was established in 1998 as BHN’s own humanresource development program aiming to foster future leaders in the ICT field in Asian countries. The
Program has been inviting promising persons every year, currently from 9 Asian countries, and providingthem with a comprehensive training program lasting two semesters, that is, the first semester in Malaysia
and the second semester in Japan. A total of 186 people from 13 different countries have participatedsince its inception through to the 24th program.

BHN Human Develpment Program
12

240

10

200

Participants

8

160
10

6
10

10
9

4

9

9

9
8

8

8

8

8

8

9
8

8

8

7
6
3
0

80

8
＊

7

5

2

120

40

3

0

＊

1998
99 2000
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09 2010 11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 2020(1st) (2nd) (3rd) (4th) (5th) (6th) (7th) (8th) (9th) (10th) (11th) (12th) (13th) (14th) (15th) (16th) (17th) (18th) (19th) (20th) (21st) (22nd)

21

Participants

22
23(23rd) (24th)

0

Participants-accumulated＊Although the 1st semester of 22nd progaram took place in 2019, the 2nd semester was postponed to2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 1

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BHN Association

Number of participants in BHN Human Development Program

Participants-accumulated

186

Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Training Course（Refer to Table 3）

APT, founded as a joint initiative between the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and thePacific (ESCAP) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 1979, has been providing humancapacity building activities programs to its member countries and territories.
BHN has been entrusted with providing APT/EBC-J* human resource development programs and APT
has sponsored the programs since FY2011
Participants in the course program take lectures from ICT experts and researchers in Tokyo and visit thecompanies and projects to see the ICT application with their own eyes. However, the program in 2019was suspended due to the sweeping COVID-19 pandemic.
The program resumed in the form of online training in 2020 and 2021, many participants taking thecourse in their home countries.
Since this program began, the numbers of participants and countries/regions have reached 160 and 28
respectively. APT members and recent participants in the training course are shown in Table 1.

*EBC-J: Extra-Budgetary Contribution from the Government of Japan

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Table 3

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BHN Association

APT Training Participant Countries and Number of Participants

BHN Dr. Kuwabara Donation-Supported Course
BHN Association, in collaboration with the University of Electro-Communications （UEC）, Tokyo,
established a course - “BHN Kuwabara Donation Supported Course” - in 2019.
This graduate course is funded with an endowment from Dr. M. Kuwabara, advisor to BHN and ex-vicepresident of NTT, and is being held annually at UEC for eight years, from 2019 to 2026.
This course is designed mainly for students from developing countries to deepen their understanding of
SDGs and ICTs which facilitate them their attaining the goals.
This donation-supported course of study includes two courses titled “Information and Communications
Technologies for SDGs” and “International Communication for Science and Technology” for a full year two semesters. So far, 197 students from 16 countries/regions, including international students, havetaken the course.
Students from UEC attend the class on campus, and students from other universities, under the “Super
Partnership Program for Graduate Schools”, e.g., Muroran Institute of Technology, Muroran, and Akita
Prefectural University, Akita, also attend the class online.

BHN Dr. Kuwabara’s Fund Scholarship Program(Refer to Table 4)

BHN Dr. Kuwabara’s Fund Scholarship Program (the ‘Kuwabara Scholarship’) was established in March
2020 and funded by a considerable donation from Dr. Moriji Kuwabara, former Chairman of BHN
Association. Based on the vision of Dr. Kuwabara, the Kuwabara Scholarship has been offering theopportunity to former participants of the BHN Human Development Program to enroll in a one-year
master’s degree at top Japanese Universities: National Graduate Institute for Policy Study (GRIPS) and
Hitotsubashi University Business School (HUB), to increase their skills and knowledge. The Kuwabara
Scholarship basically accepts two scholarship students every year. To date, three students have taken
advantage of the scholarship program.

Table 4
Period ofstudy
Oct. 2022 –Sep. 2023
Oct. 2023 –Sep. 2024

BHN Dr. Kuwabara’s Fund Scholars

Number ofscholarsCountry

Graduate school

2

Bangladesh

GRIPS

1

Bangladesh

GRIPS

CourseOne-Year Master’s Program of
Public Policy
One-Year Master’s Program of
Public Policy

GRIPS: National Graduate Institute for Policy Study

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