Journal of the National Institute of Public Health2013 Vol.62 No.4 p.428−433＜Report＞
NIPH-JICA-net lectures presented
by NIPH international health course alumnae
Etsuji OKAMOTO
Department of Health and Welfare Service, National Institute of Public Health
Abstract
The National Institute of Public Health started a two-year international health course held exclusively
in English in 2000 for students from developing countries sponsored by JICA (Japan International
Cooperation Agency). In 2004, the course was restructured to allow enrollment Japanese students andthe school term was shortened to one year. Classes comprised of students from Japan and othercountries provided ideal conditions for intellectual stimulation and interaction. In January 2006,
teleconference lectures were introduced to take advantage of the newly developed JICA-net, whichconnected JICA offices throughout the world. Alumnae working as professionals in their homecountries were invited to give lectures. A total of 29 lectures were presented over the seven years
between 2006 and 2012 by 16 alumnae from 12 countries. Practicing professionals provided valuable
reports on various topics, including the Buruli ulcer endemic to Africa, malaria control in Uganda, water
sanitation in Kenya, health care for the indigent in Mongolia and a new school health project in thePhilippines. Unfortunately the course was discontinued after the graduating class of 2012. This article
intends to compile the achievements of JICA-net lectures to record in history. Also, audio-visual
recording and transcripts of the lectures were donated to NIPH library to be available for the future.
keywords: distance learning, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), international health,health human resources development(accepted for publication, 31th May 2013)

I.

Introduction

The NIPH started an international health course held
exclusively in English in FY2000[1]. One student from
Kenya enrolled in the first year and three JICA (Japan
International Cooperation Agency)-sponsored students
from Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia enrolled to the twoyear MPH course in FY2001-2003. In 2004 this course wasrestructured into a one-year MPH course enrolling bothforeign and Japanese students with a class size of ten in
FY2004. While Japanese students may apply directly to
NIPH, foreign students must apply through their local
JICA offices. Mixed classes with both foreign andJapanese students provided an ideal environment
stimulating active interactions between them.
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the course wasdiscontinued in FY2012 (the last class graduated in
March 2012). In its 12 years history, it graduated a totalof 68 students (Japan 20, Tanzania 8, China 7, Zambia・
Kenya 4, Philippines・Laos 3, PapuaNewGuinea・Solomon
・Cambodia・Afghanistan・Mongolia・Ghana 2, SriLanka
・Uganda・Iraq・Senegal・Jamaica・Ethiopia・Samoa 1).
Their positions and activities after graduation are
described elsewhere [2]. Although the course was short
lived, its curriculum had one unique feature: JICA-net
lectures, in which alumnae taught students via ateleconference system. This article discusses theachievements and contents of the lectures.

II. JICA -net
JICA introduced a teleconferencing system connecting
JICA offices throughout the world (JICA-net). A serirs ofcorresponding author: Etsuji Okamoto
2-3-6, Minami, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0197, Japan.
T e l: +81-48-458-6208
Fax: +81-48-469-1573
E-mail: atoz＠niph.go.jp

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NIPH-JICA-net lectures presented by NIPH international health course alumnae

Figure 1 JICA-net lecture in a teleconference room of NIPH
James Ssekitooleko (Class of 2006) presents a lecture on 10 Jan. 2007 fromJICA Uganda office. After the teleconference system was installed at NIPH,
students did not have to travel to JICA Tokyo center to attend the JICA-net
lectures as they had done in the first year. Note that the power point slides are
displayed on wall and must be handled manually by a coordinator.

lectures to be delivered via JICA-net was introduced in
FY2005 to take advantage of this innovative newtechnology. The JICA-net lectures invited the alumnae ofthe course who had returned to their countries and were
engaged in their professional activities. When the schoolterm of the course was shortened to one year in FY2004,
students were left without an opportunity to communicate
with the newly arrived stulents. The JICA-net lectures
provided a valuable opportunity for students to meet theirseniors and find out how they were contributing to theirprofessional activities after completion of the course.
The first-year’s lectures were held in January 2006.
Four alumnae who had graduated in the previous year
participated. At that time, the NIPH was not equippedwith teleconferencing equiment and students visited JICA
Tokyo Center to attend the lecture. The following year,
NIPH was equipped with its own teleconferencing room
which was made available for JICA-net lectures (Figure 1).

III. Coordination
Arranging the JICA-net lectures was a logisticalchallenge. The coordinator had to schedule times when
all three parties could meet: lecturers, students and local
JICA offices. Time differences also needed to beconsidered. Some lectures had to be scheduled late in
the evening but it was difficult to connect to certain partsof the world late at night or in the early morning.

Because of this, it was not possible to connect to, forexample, Jamaica. Lecturers had to travel to their local
JICA offices. For some alumnae living in distant areas,
traveling to JICA offices in a capital was time consuming
and costly (lecturers received small honorarium from the
NIPH but traveling cost to a JICA office was notreimbursed).
JICA-net lectures were scheduled for JanuaryFebruary during the school year. By that time, most
didactic lectures were over and it was easier tocoordinate schedules. Because the lecture was situated in
the near the end of their school year, it was considered tobe the culmination of the entire school year. By attending
the lecture, students learned that they would be expected
to appear as lecturers the following year, further
increasing their motivation.

IV. Lectures
Lecturers submitted Power-Point files in advance andprintouts were distributed to students. A coordinatorhandled it according to directions given by the lecturer. A
lecture typically took one hour and was followed by Q&A
session. Both lecturers and students were displayed onscreen simultaneously allowing real time interactions(Figure 2). All students were required to submit a one
page report on each lecture and grading was based on
their participation and reports.

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Etsuji OKAMOTO

Figure 2 How JICA-net works
Canisius Banda and Shizu Watanabe (both Class of 2005) presents lectures
jointly on 16 Jan.2007 from JICA Zambia office. Note that the listening students
are displayed in an inlet of the screen. The inlet also displays a notebook
computer showing lecturers which slide the students are watching. Handlingthe audiovisual equipment effectively to facilitate active interaction between
lecturers and students was a challenge for a coordinator.

V.

Contents

Over seven years, the JICA-net lecture held a total of
29 sessions presented by 16 alumnae from 12 countries(Table 1). The contents of selected lectures are
summarized below (the number in bold parenthesis
corresponds to the number in Table 1).
Buruli ulcer in Africa by Samuel Agyemang Boateng(Ghana, class of 2007) on Jan 18. 2010【18】and Feb 10.
2012【29】.
Buruli ulcer (BU) is a bacterial infection caused by
Mycobacterium ulcers, acid-fast bacilli similar topathogens of tuberculosis and leprosy. BU is endemic in
the central region of Africa but little is known to Japanese
medical community. Therefore, the lecture was a valuable
teaching material to professionals who were notknowledgeable about the disease. BU affects skin andsoft tissue leaving patients scarred and disabled. The
bacteria infects through minor skin lesion and hence
affects children most. The lecture contained ample
pictures of actual cases and practical information on
pathology, diagnosis, prognosis and public healthmeasures to control the disease. He also published an
original article on tuberculosis in Ghana [3, 4].
Malaria control in Uganda, James Ssekitooleko(Uganda, class of 2006) on 10 Jan. 2007【5】 and 21
Jan. 2009【14】.

430Malaria remains a serious public health threat in many
developing countries. James Ssekitooleko worked at the
Ugandan Malaria Research Centre and his 90 slides
presentation provided a practical learning course on the
disease. He started by providing an overview of the very
basics of the disease including its epidemiology andsocial burden. He further described the latest malaria
control methods including insecticide-treated nets (ITN),
indoor residual spraying (IRS) and case management.
He referred to the special relationship between malaria
and HIV, a scientific fact not well known to professionals
in developed countries. As a researcher, he also lectured
about the methodology of prioritizing research agenda inan evidence-based manner. This was used in formulating
the health policy of Uganda.
Health care in poor households in Mongolia,
Nansalmaa Bazarragchaa (Mongolia, class of 2007) on
Jan 19. 2011【22】What is it like to be homeless in a country with wintertemperatures as low as minus 20 centigrade? In a country
with severe winters, poverty can be a life or deathsituation. Mongolia has a population of only 2.67 million
but as many as 36.1% of them are living below the poverty
line. If they have to live in a life or death situation, thenwhat their health care will be avaiable to them? Shesurveyed the socioeconomic status and utilization ofhealth care services by the indigent population andanalyzed how poverty hinders access to health care. She

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NIPH-JICA-net lectures presented by NIPH international health course alumnae
Table 1 List of JICA-net lectures

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Etsuji OKAMOTO

conducted not only statistical analysis, but also face-toface interviews to obtain narrative quotations on how theindigent people feel about their health and care theyreceive. Her lecture demonstrated the urgent need ofachieving universal health coverage for any countries toguarantee affordable health care to the entire population.
Water sanitation in Kenya, Simon K Kimani (Kenya,class of 2005) on Jan 23. 2009【16】Kenya and the NIPH have a long cooperation on water
sanitation [5]. Simon K Kimani majored in water sanitationand served as head of environmental health sciences
Kenya Medical Training College after graduating fromthe NIPH. He volunteered JICA-net lectures many times
on a wide-ranging topics to provide. In 2009, he
presented on his own field. He started by describing
water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid andemphasized that improper handling of drinking water
causes serious public health threats. He went on todescribe how water should be treated to ensure a safe
water supply. He also discussed environmental threats heobserved during a survey of the suburbs of Nairobi. He
presented numerous pictures showing contamination ofrivers and water reservoirs by waste, chemicals anddeforestation. He concluded by quoting the Millennium
Developmental Goal (MDG) No.7 to ensure environmental
sustainability and called for harmonizing the economic
development and environmental protection.
Family planning and primary care in Pakistan, Ayako
Tokunaga (Japan, class of 2005) on Jan 19. 2009【13】Ayako Tokunaga is a Japanese national who earned
her medical degree in Pakistan. Shortly after graduationfrom the NIPH, she was sent to Pakistan as a JICA
expert. While there, she experienced an earthquake on
October 8th, 2005 which killed 86,000 people (the death
toll included one male JICA expert and his son). She
lectured on the activities of Lady Health Workers (LHW)
in family planning and primary care, who she assisted intraining. A total of 100,000 LHWs were working all overthe country. LHWs also suffered casualties from thequake: in one district, 11 LHWs out of 616 lost lives and124 of them were rendered homeless. Despite thedisaster, she remained in Pakistan and completed her twoyear task. When she presented her JICA-net lecture, she
was deployed in Nepal and her lecture also included“school health and nutrition project in Nepal”.
Child-to-child school health program in the Philippines,
Artemio Licos Jr. (Philippines, class of 2006) on Feb 1.
2008【12】, Jan 23. 2009【15】, Jan 20. 2010【20】andFeb 8. 2012【26】In schools, teachers instruct children. But Artemio
Licos Jr (Jun) attempted a new method of improving
school dental health: appointing some children as “little
doctors” and instructing them on the teaching of correct
tooth brushing to their classmates. He started the432

program in ten pilot schools in La Union, the Philippines
in 2006, shortly after he graduated from the NIPH. He
then added 16 more schools the second year. Eachschool forms an exclusive club which consists of a clubadvisor and 8-10 club members from grades 5 and 6. The
club is called the “School Little Doctors’ Club”. The
program includes a “Directly Observed Tooth brushing(DOT) strategy”, in which members of the School Little
Doctors’ Club directly supervise tooth brushing drills by
the fellow pupils, a Child-to-child approach. He concluded
that “the success of this group depends on thecommitment and actual involvement of each little doctor
member”. His achievement was published as an originalarticle [6].

VI. Conclusions
The JICA-net lectures were made possible bytechnological innovations. It was a fortunate coincidence
that the author was appointed as a coordinator of special
lectures and the JICA developed the JICA-net
teleconferencing system. Technology has since advanced
further. The same form of teleconferencing is now
possible over the net via, for example, Skype. People are
now able to view and talk with anybody in a distant placealmost free of charge. The JICA-net lectures were literally
a technological breakthrough in education methods.
Another advantage of the JICA-net lectures was that
their contents could be recorded in audiovisual media,
allowing them to be viewed repeatedly. Many lectures
were recorded on DVDs, which were bound to a bookand were donated to the NIPH library for viewing in the
future. Rather, one might consider posting the contents
over the web like the “super course” [7].
The NIPH international health course was short-lived,
lasting only 12 years, but the contents of the JICA-net
lectures and the efforts and dedication of its alumnae will
be remembered forever in history.

Acknowledgement
The author thanks the following staff for theircontribution to the JICA-net lectures.
NIPH: Keika Hoshi, Tomoko Inage, Junko Doguchi
JICA: Kanae Okano, Michiko Hatakenaka, Mizuki
Matsuzaki, Naoko Katsumata

References[1] Uehata T. International cooperation training at
National Institute of Public Health. Journal of
National Institute of Public Health. 2000;49(1):1 [inJapanese].
[2] Department of Education and Training Technology.

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NIPH-JICA-net lectures presented by NIPH international health course alumnae

International cooperation on global health.
International Contribution to Healthcare andEnvironmental Health: The role and capacity
development in National Institute of Public Health.
Wako; National Institute of Public Health: 2010.
p.163-89.
[3] Boateng SA, Kodama T, Tachibana T, Hyoi N.
Factors contributing to tuberculosis (TB) defaulter
rate in New Juaben municipality in the Eastern
Region of Ghana. Journal of National Institute of
Public Health. 2010;59(3):291-7.
[4] Boateng SA, Kodama T, Sata F, Bonsu G, Osawa E.
Community-involved strategy to improve tuberculosis(TB) treatment outcomes in Eastern Region of

Ghana. Journal of National Institute of Public Health.
2012;61(4):357-65.
[5] Hayakawa T. Water and sanitation in rural Kenya.
Journal of National Institute of Public Health.
2000;49(3):251-8. [in Japanese].
[6] Licos AR Jr. Child-to-child school health program(CtCSHP): Its impact on the oral health behavior of
grade 1 pupils in the division of La Union,
Philippines. Journal of National Institute of Public
Health. 2011;60(1):44-9.
[7] Usuda K, Takamura N, Tamashiro H. An internetbased distance learning. Journal of National Instituteof Public Health. 2000;49(1):23-9. [in Japanese].

国立保健医療科学院国際保健コース修了生によるJICAネット講義
抄録
国立保健医療科学院では全て英語で講義する外国人向けの国際保健コースを２００
０年度より（於：旧公衆衛生院）開設した．当初は２年制で初年度はケニアから１名，以後毎年３人の途上国の学生をJICA（国際協力機構）研修生として受け入れた．２００４年度より１年制のコースとなり，外国人と日本人の混成クラスに改組された．本コースは日本人と外国人が混在し刺激しあい，国際的に活躍できる公衆衛生専門家を養成する上で理想的であった．しかし本コースは２０
１２年修了の３人を最後に休止された．１２年間という短い期間であったが６８人の修了生が巣立ち各国で活躍している（日本２０，タンザニア８，中国７，ザンビア・ケニヤ各４，フィリピン・ラオス各３，
パプアニューギニア・ソロモン・カンボジア・アフガニスタン・モンゴル・ガーナ各２，スリラ
ンカ・ウガンダ・イラク・セネガル・ジャマイカ・エチオピア・サモア各１）．著者は２００２年度入学者より生物統計学，医療情報学を担当してきたが，改組後はさらに国際保健特論という主に外部講師による自由設計科目も担当した．ちょうどJICAが各国事務所を結ぶテレビ会議システム（JICAネット）を導入した頃だったため２００６年１月よりJICAネットを活用した遠隔授業を導入した．JICAネット講義ではコース修了後それぞれの国に戻って活躍する修了生に講師を依頼し，途上国での公衆衛生活動の実践的な報告を学ぶとともに，１年制になって希薄がちであった先輩後
輩間の絆を強め，修了生のネットワークを強化するねらいもあった．講義は１年間の在籍期間の最終段階に行なわれ，研修生には「来年は自分が講師になる」という自覚を高める効果をもたらした．JICAにとっては，研修生の帰国後の活動状況をモニターする手段ともなった．本稿ではコースが休止されたことを区切りとして７年間にわたるJICAネット授業の成果をまとめた．計２９回の講義が１
２か国にまたがる１
６人の卒業生によって提供された．その内容は，わが国にはほとん
ど知られていないブルリ潰瘍と呼ばれる感染症，ウガンダのマラリア対策，ケニアの水確保と環境破壊問題，モンゴルの貧困層の受療状況そしてフィリピンにおける学校歯科保健の新しい試み
等多彩であった．本稿はこれら卒業生による貴重な講義記録を一覧として記録するものである．
また録画媒体ならびに講義記録は冊子化して国立保健医療科学院図書館にて閲覧可能とした．
キーワード：遠隔授業，JICA（国際協力機構），国際保健，人材育成
岡本悦司
国立保健医療科学院医療・福祉サービス研究部

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