# Measures for Each of the Priority Issues

The four priority issues of poverty reduction, sustainable growth, approaches to global issues, and peacebuilding are listed in the ODA Charter. This section will introduce Japan’s recent approaches to these issues.

### 1. Poverty Reduction

## (1) Education

Education plays an important role in socio-economic development for poverty reduction. It also enables individuals to develop their own talents and capabilities, as well as to live with dignity. Education fosters understanding towards other people and of different cultures, and forms the foundation of peace. However, approximately 72 million children are unable to attend

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Emphasizing “nation building” and “human resource development,” Japan provides developing countries with wide-ranging educational supports, including basic education, higher education, and technical and vocational education and training. Japan announced the “Basic Education for Growth Initiative (BEGIN)” in 2002, based on which it provides assistance that combines both “hard” and “soft” aspects, such as building schools and teacher training, with the emphasis on ensuring opportunities for education, raising its quality, and improving management as priorities.

There is also the “Fast Track Initiative (FTI),” a global framework to achieve universal primary education by 2015. As the G8 chair, Japan served as an FTI co-chair and member of its Steering Committee from January 2008, and was deeply involved in FTI debates and reform efforts. Japanese contribution to FTI-related trust funds totaled US$4.8 million from FY2007 to FY2009.

In April 2008, Japan delivered a message at the International Symposium on Self-Reliance and Sustainability of EFA (Note 8), which stressed further school worldwide, 54% of which are girls. The total number of adults who do not possess the minimum literacy ability is roughly 759 million people, of which approximately two-thirds are women (Note 7). The international community aims at realizing “Education for All (EFA)” to improve this situation.

improvement in basic education in both quality and quantity, strengthened support for diverse educational stages beyond basic education, coordination between education and other fields, and participatory efforts that involve all people concerned in and outside Japan.

Specific initiatives during the five years from 2008 announced by Japan include: construction of about 1,000 schools (roughly 5,500 classrooms) in Africa; capacity development of about 300,000 science and mathematics teachers worldwide (including about 100,000 for Africa); and expanded initiatives for the improvement of school management for 10,000 schools in Africa. These initiatives are steadily implemented. Furthermore, in the field of literacy, Japan carries out literacy education for approximately 300,000 people in Afghanistan. It provides grant assistance of roughly ¥1.5 billion, implemented through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2008 for a period of four years, and thereby promotes literacy education in the country.

In recent years, Japan has been supporting human resource development in developing countries through