2000. This current stimulated international interest in infectious diseases, leading to the creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) in January 2002. A G8 action plan adopted at the G8 Evian Summit in 2003 also emphasized the significance of taking measures against infectious diseases by emphasizing the important role of the Global Fund.

In line with the IDI, Japanese government and other agencies, including the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, have been cooperating in promoting comprehensive measures against infectious diseases in developing countries through bilateral and multilateral assistance. The IDI offered 3 billion dollars in Japanese aid for measures against infectious diseases over the next five years. As of 2002, Japan had extended 2.4 billion dollars in such aid. In fiscal year 2003, Japan conducted an interim review of the IDI to get proposals for the implementation of assistance in more effective and efficient measures against infectious diseases.

Japan and other donor countries have pledged approximately 5.5 billion dollars in contributions to the GFATM and have already disbursed 3 billion dollars of the pledged contributions. Programmes approved at the GFATM Board are valued at 3 billion dollars. Of the total project value, 56% is set aside for AIDS, 31% for malaria, and 13% for tuberculosis. A breakdown by area indicates that 61% of the project value is designed for Sub-Saharan Africa, 30% for Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, and 9% for Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Japan has also cooperated with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other relevant international organizations in taking various measures against SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and newly emerging infectious diseases like bird influenza. The following are Japan's specific measures against each infectious disease in fiscal year 2003 (see Part II, Chapter 2, Section 3, 1-(2) for measures against health problems other than infectious diseases).

## (a) HIV/AIDS

At the end of fiscal year 2003, an estimated 40 million people in the world were living with HIV/AIDS. $ ^{[16]} $ A specific plan to implement 3by5 Initiative, $ ^{*1} $ as announced by WHO and UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), calls for training 100,000 health workers. Worldwide training is urgently required to train health workers to support HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. In assisting developing countries in this area, Japan has contributed to HIV/AIDS prevention and VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) activities for young people and groups at high-risk, and the development of HIV/AIDS testing and diagnosis techniques. In fiscal year 2003, Japan assisted Cambodia in constructing HIV/AIDS outpatient wards, Uganda in reconstructing an HIV/AIDS counselor training center, and Thailand and Fiji in promoting enlightenment activities regarding HIV/AIDS. In December, Japan invited ASEAN health administrators, medical doctors and nurses involved in measures against HIV/AIDS to a joint workshop in Tokyo. Through UNAIDS, Japan also promoted research into the global HIV infection situation and the development of vaccines and new therapeutic agents, and prepared guidelines for various HIV/AIDS prevention measures.

## (b) Polio

As the WHO Western Pacific Region (WPR) $ ^{17} $ was certified as polio-free in 2000, poliomyelitis has almost been eradicated throughout the world. Japan has positively cooperated with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) and WHO in eradicating poliomyelitis through the dissemination of polio vaccine in the world. Japan has also been a major aid donor (ranked fourth after the United States, Britain and the Rotary Club) for South Asia and Africa where poliomyelitis has yet to be eradicated. For the Western Pacific, the world's second region to eradicate polio, Japan has been the largest aid donor making great contributions as explained earlier (see Part I, Chapter 1, Section 1). At the Evian G8 Summit in 2003, Japan pledged 80 million dollars in aid for global polio eradication over three years until 2005. Japan is the second largest aid donor after the United States in terms of polio eradication aid commitments for years to 2005. In fiscal year 2003, Japan disbursed approximately 3.7 billion yen in assistance to 14

$ ^{*} $ I: 3by5 Initiative

The 3by5 Initiative calls for the global target to get three million people living with HIV/AIDS in developing and transitional countries on antiretroviral treatment (ART) by the end of 2005.