Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
Transmitting Knowledge of Japan and Kenya throughout the African Region: SMASSE Project

Students doing physical experiment

(Photo: JICA)

Classroom scene

(Photo: JICA)

In Kenya, science and mathematics performance of children at primary and secondary schools has been flagging. Therefore, Japan has implemented the "Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) Project" since 1998 to support strengthening of science and mathematics education at secondary schools. Under the SMASSE, Japan established the retraining of science and mathematics teachers in nine provinces and a two-stage training system consisting of central and local training in the initial five years. Regarding training, Japan promoted movements to remodel classes based on the philosophy of ASEI ("A" for activity, "S" for student-centered: "E" for experiment: "I" for improvisation) and PDSI ("P" for plan, "D" for do, "S" for see, and "I" for improve). This is aimed at improving performance through provision of classes full of ingenuity in line with individual students' personality and interest so as to ensure that every student enjoys working on classes. It is an approach developed by Kenya and Japan. The effect thereof has come to be recognized in the scenes of education in Kenya, and the Government of Kenya decided to scale up this training project nationwide. Japan has been supporting such initiative of the Kenyan Government since 2003 under the SMASSE Phase 2. Approximately 20,000 science and mathematics teachers and 0.9 million students in Kenya have benefited from this project.

The training projects under the SMASSE are characterized in that Japan does not pay daily wages to trainees. The idea that "trainees are also beneficiaries" was not easily understood at the beginning, but after teachers themselves realized that students' response in class changed through training, the number of participants increased each time. In this way, it can be said that training under the SMASSE reminded teachers in Kenya of the basis of education, that is, "joy of teaching and joy of learning."

In addition, a mechanism for appropriating part of school expenses paid by students to schools to the management of training was created for local training. By such devices, a low-cost, sustainable implementation system was established, and about half of all expenses for training projects are now incurred by the Kenya side.

Such experience and results in Kenya attracted attention from neighboring countries in Africa, and a SMASSE-centered regional network of education experts (SMASSE-WECSA) was created in 2002. The SMASSE-WECSA attracted much attention during the Johannesburg Summit (WSSD) in August 2002, and it serves as a basis for Japan's cooperation in science and mathematics education in Africa. In addition, practical activities such as training of instructors for teacher training from seven neighboring countries in Nairobi in 2004 was also carried out. It is expected that the knowledge of Kenya and Japan that was established in the SMASSE will spread throughout the African region through these activities.
## Regional Traveling Medical Services by the Medical Boat "Health": Study on Enhancement of District Health System for Beni Prefecture in the Republic of Bolivia

Beni Prefecture in the Republic of Bolivia in South America is located along a branch of the Amazon River. It is a poverty area suffering from malaria and other tropical infectious diseases as well as maternal and child health problems due to its natural environment. In the rainy season, there had been the continuous situation where residents had difficulty receiving health services due to impassable roads. The district health system had not functioned sufficiently in poverty areas in the suburbs of cities.

Under such circumstance, Japan prepared a Master Plan (M/P) on the district health system in Beni Prefecture in line with Bolivia's National Health Policy and conducted an experimental test after selecting repre-

The "Health" providing regional traveling medical services (Photo: JICA)

sentative model areas.

A medical boat called the "Health" was provided for this experimental test, and it provided traveling medical services to 28 scattered communities in the basin of the Mamore River, which is a branch of the Amazon River. As a result, local residents have become able to receive health services in the rainy season, and the early prevention and treatment of tropical infectious diseases as well as maternal and child health management has become possible. For these traveling medical services, aid coordination was actively promoted, for example, personnel cost for doctors was covered by assistance from international NGOs, USAID,

and the World Bank. A female doctor on the "Health" said, "Although my body turns red due to mosquito bites when I come back from one time of boarding, residents welcome very much a visit of the 'Health' to their villages." In addition, a primary health care center was constructed in the poverty area near Trinidad in Beni with the participation of residents, and the center started providing medical services. There, female vocational nurses play a central role in vaccinating residents through door-to-door visits in the region. On a map, they erect a pin at the place of a household where vaccination was completed. A vocational nurse said, "When this is done, we

can know at a glance households where vaccination has not been conducted." In this way, participatory health promotion activity, which is rooted in the region and is made in cooperation with residents, has already started.

At present, this experimental test has been taken over by Beni Prefecture and municipal-level committees, and dissemination to other regions in the same prefecture has been conducted with the participation of international NGOs and USAID. The Mayor of Trinidad said, the "medical boat 'Health' made it possible to provide medical consultation and treatment in an Amazon region that had been out of view," and he made a public recognition of Japan's assistance.

Scene of dental care

(Photo: JICA)
Tilong Dam constructed by the small-scale irrigation project ("Small Scale Irrigation Management Project": Indonesia) (Photo: JBIC)

food assistance activities, see Part II, Chapter 2, Section 3, 3-(4)).

As characteristic efforts, Japan has been cooperating in development of NERICA, $ ^{5} $ which is a high-yielding variety with excellent disease resistance, through crossbreeding of a high-yielding Asian rice and a disease/weed-resistant African rice, from the standpoint of making use of Asia's experience in the agricultural sector for Africa. For this purpose, Japan dispatches experts to the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) as well as provides support through international organizations such as the UNDP and the FAO. With respect to NERICA, Japan has been implementing cooperation mainly in West African regions suitable for growing rice based on a system in which local farmers grow rice with ownership. For example, farmers themselves select varieties that they grow, out of varieties including NERICA. Recipient countries have expressed high interest and expectations. On the other hand, problems and matters to be improved in promoting NERICA have been reported, such as shortage of seeds, response to soil degradation, necessity of quality securing and appropriate cultivation standards, and fitness for production areas. Japan is promoting collection of basic information and survey on the future direction of technical cooperation on site to gain an understanding of these problems, and is making efforts to contribute to food security in the African region by conducting research and development of NERICA and promoting diffusion thereof.

In the fishery sector, Japan has been providing support for improving the livelihood of small-scale fishermen through local fishery bodies by the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects, in addition to support for infrastructure building including improvement of fishing ports and fishery facilities, provision of equipment to fishery vocational training centers and fishery schools, and technical cooperation such as technical guidance on fishing. Through cooperating with regional international organizations, Japan supported SEAFDEC's fishery development and survey in marine resources by its member states. In March 2004, an oceanographic research and training vessel was provided by Japanese Grant Aid for fisheries.

NERICA (the man in the photo is Dr. Monty Jones who developed NERICA) (Photo: WARDA)
Communications network development to promote information technology in Bhutan (Project for Construction of the Domestic Telecommunication Network in the Western Region: Bhutan) (Photo: JICA)

for promotion of social and economic development of urban and rural areas. The project also covered the development of data systems for the preparation of long-term bridge maintenance and management programs and the enhancement of bridge maintenance and management capabilities to contribute to efficient maintenance and management. Japan also provided grant aid to Madagascar for the "Project for construction of a Bypass of the National Route No. 7" to build a road crossing trunk highways to ease chronic traffic jams in the capital city of Antananarivo.

As for telecommunications infrastructure, Japan provided a Yen loan in fiscal year 2003 for Indonesia's "Maritime Telecommunication System Development Project (IV)" to establish radio stations with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to meet the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and contribute to marine salvage development and measures against marine disasters, accidents, piracy and terrorism. To Papua New Guinea where radio stations play a key role in conveying information in the absence of television, Japan extended grant aid for the "Project for Improvement of Equipment of the National Broadcasting Corporation" to replace outdated radio transmission equipment for radio stations. The project to provide five radio stations with equipment will boost the radio broadcast target population from the present 210,000 to 1.36 million. This is expected to recover regional communications and improve living environments through information on administrative services, health care and hygiene, agriculture and other areas. Elementary school education through radio broadcast may also be expanded (see Part II, Chapter 2, Section 3, 2-(4) for information technology-related assistance).

## (b) Urban and Rural Living Environment Development

Direct assistance in the development of urban rural living environments includes the provision of education and healthcare facilities and equipment, and the support for stable and sanitary water supply. Assistance in such social infrastructure contributes to improving livelihood of residents and to narrowing domestic gaps in developing countries. The development of social infrastructure, as well as economic infrastructure, plays a key role in achieving sustainable economic growth in developing countries.

Specific projects subjected to Japan's assistance include the "Zletovica Basin Water Utilization Improvement Project" that is designed to improve living environments for residents suffering from chronic water shortages in eastern Macedonia through the stable supply of sanitary drinking water and contributing to the promotion of agricultural and industrial development in the region through agricultural and industrial water supply. Another project is the "Water Pipeline Construction Project in Northern Tunisia" to lay conducting tubes from

Development of a well (Malawi)
Note: Students dispatched by foreign governments are from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the UAE (United Arab Emirates), Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, China, Bangladesh and Republic of Korea (ROK).

and developing countries through Japanese people's personal relations with these countries' leaders including young people forging the future of their countries.

Japan's human resources development assistance centers on technical cooperation including the acceptance of students from developing countries, the improvement of their administrative officials' capacity, vocational capability development, labor safety and health, and the enhancement of industrial competitiveness. In a bid to improve the quality of assistance at lower cost, Japan has proactively taken advantage of information technology. In Malaysia, for example, Japan has implemented Malaysia's "Project on Networked Multimedia Education System" to establish a multimedia education network to link a multimedia university as the hub site to five local educational institutions as remote sites.

Under the "Plan to Accept 100,000 Foreign Students, $ ^{8} $ " Japan has promoted various measures for foreign students, including the systematic acceptance of government-financed students, assistance to privately-financed students, the promotion of exchanges between foreign students, and the expansion of education and research instruction services. The program's goal was achieved as the number of foreign students in Japan totaled approximately 109,500 in May 2003. Based on proposals by the Central Education Council in December 2003, the Japanese government plans to proactively implement measures to enhance external exchanges through the acceptance of foreign students and the overseas dispatch of Japanese students, and improve the quality of foreign students. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology earmarked 53,458 million yen for foreign students in its fiscal year 2004 budget, including 43,120 million yen in ODA.

Japan has utilized other financial assistance for human resources development including the acceptance of foreign students. Specifically, such systems as the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship $ ^{9} $ and the Higher Education Loan Fund Project $ ^{10} $ are used for financial assistance for developing countries' human resource development and overseas dispatch of students.

In the area of vocational capability development in developing countries, Japan has also assisted in the construction and management of facilities, and dispatched experts and
Phu My Thermal Power Plant in Vietnam (Photo: JBIC)

the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). In the 1990s, Japan had provided Yen loans for power generation and transmission projects in Vietnam. As the Vietnam government decided to promote power source development by the private sector in 2001, however, the Japanese government began to cooperate with the ADB and private-sector financial institutions in extending loans to power generation and transmission projects in Vietnam.

Private enterprises' business operations in developing countries may be affected by regulations on foreign exchange deals and external remittances and by risks involving legal system changes and war. Therefore, private enterprises have difficulties in receiving financing from private-sector financial institutions for business operations in developing countries. This has discouraged private enterprises from promoting projects in developing countries. Official organizations like the JBIC and ADB are cooperating with private-sector financial institutions in overcoming these difficulties. They have provided huge syndicate loans for projects in developing countries to encourage private enterprises to conduct business operations in these countries.

OOF flowing to developing countries can thus be utilized to help private enterprises undertake overseas business operations. They may also be exploited for infrastructure development for economic growth in recipient countries. Particularly, the BOT (build, operate and transfer) scheme $ ^{12} $ allows private enterprises to build and operate projects in developing countries and finally transfer them to host countries. BOT projects may thus contribute to infrastructure development for economic growth in developing countries while encouraging private-sector funds to flow into these countries.

It is very important to secure diversified fund-raising means meeting various development needs in order to help developing countries promote market-oriented economic reforms. In this sense, Japan's official financing including

Chart II -20 Flow of Funds from DAC Member Countries and International Organizations to Developing Countries

Source: The DAC Journal Development Cooperation 2003 Report
Note 1: Each reduction rate indicates a percentage of debts subject to relief.

2: The Group of Seven industrial nations at the Cologne Summit in 1999 offered a voluntary addition measure to cut ODA debts by 100% for HIPCs (heavily indebted poor countries) subject to the expanded HIPC Initiative. In 2000, The G-7 offered a 100% reduction for non-ODA debts subject to the initiative.

Regarding the poorest countries' debt problem, Japan has provided approximately 5.4 billion dollars or about a quarter of total G-7 contributions (23.5 billion dollars) to 27 countries subject to the expanded HIPC Initiative. This represents the largest national share of the initiative. Japan believes that it is essential to promptly and steadily implement the initiative in the future.

Japan had implemented debt relief grant aid to help relieve poor Yen loan recipients of debt burdens. Since fiscal year 2003, however, Japan has implemented Yen loan waivers for poor countries subject to the debt relief grant aid in order to solve the debt problem faster, reduce the burden of debtor nations and secure transparency and efficiency of ODA. In fiscal year 2003, Japan waived a total of approximately 91.3 billion yen in Yen loans to seven countries (including approximately 53.4 billion yen for Bolivia, 3.8 billion yen for Benin, approximately 8 billion yen for Mauritania, approximately 12.1 billion yen for Tanzania, approximately 7.8 billion yen for Mali and approximately 6.2 billion yen for Uganda) under the expanded HIPC Initiative. As a debt reduction measure under the TDB resolution, Japan also waived approximately 158.1 billion yen in Yen loans to Bangladesh. (Yen loan waivers in fiscal year 2003 thus totaled approximately 249.4 billion yen). Japan will cooperate with international society in monitoring future developments under the PRSP scheme so that loan waivers would contribute to debtor countries' social and economic development including poverty reduction.

Low- and medium-income countries other than HIPCs (hereinafter referred to as non-HIPC countries) include some heavily indebted nations. The debt problem should be addressed appropriately to prevent debt burdens from affecting the medium and long term stable development of these
Source: World Bank, Global Development Finance 2004

Note: Figures are totals of long-term debts of all developing countries.

countries.

After the G8 countries considered the debt problem facing non-HIPC countries, the G8 finance ministers announced a new Paris Club approach to debt restructuring as an annex to their statement at their meeting in Deauville in May 2003. Later, the Paris Club agreed to specifics of the new approach (Evian Approach $ ^{*1} $ ).

Under the Evian Approach, the Paris Club focuses on debt sustainability of all non-HIPC debtor nations more than in the past and considers measures meeting their respective conditions. Comprehensive debt relief measures will be taken for any non-HIPC country that has a great debt burden and debt service problems from the viewpoint of debt sustainability, if it meets certain conditions. The Evian Approach was applied to Kenya in January 2004, to the Dominican Republic in March 2004 and to Gabon in June 2004.

Japan has supported the approach to debt relief paying greater attention to debt sustainability of non-HIPC countries, participated proactively in discussions on relevant international frameworks and cooperated in debt relief measures for these countries.

Debtor countries themselves must resolve the debt problem by controlling their debts proactively and making reform efforts. On the other hand, however, excessive debts should be prevented from affecting the development of developing countries. Under the basic belief that debtor countries should proactively strive to achieve medium- and long-term growth and recover their debt service capacity, Japan will address the debt problem within international frameworks in a bid to allow these countries to attain such growth.

### 3. Addressing Global Issues

Issues that cross national borders are becoming more serious. These issues include global environmental issues such as global warming and ozone depletion caused by sophistication and expansion of human economic activities in the second half of the 20th century, population growth in developing countries, transnational organized crime such as smuggling of weapons and drugs resulting from the advance of globalization, terrorism, and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Under these circumstances, the international community has become aware of the importance of strengthening measures to deal with global issues that individual countries cannot handle alone. In the ODA Charter, it is stated that further efforts must

## $ ^{*} $ I: Evian Approach

The Evian Approach was agreed on between the G8 countries and its specifics were decided on at the Paris Club. Covering all non-HIPC countries, the approach focuses on the sustainability of debtor nations more than in the past and calls for measures to be implemented in accordance with respective conditions of debtor countries.
Indonesia has a variety of living species in its tropical rainforests. Regrettably, however, forests are being lost with the number of living species declining in the 44 national parks that account for 6% of Indonesia's national land. Considering the need for international cooperation in the conservation of biodiversity in developing countries, the Japanese government, based on cooperation with the international community and on its "Biodiversity Conservation Project," provided grant aid in 1997 to build the Center for Zoology of the Research Center for Biology in Cibinong south of Jakarta (where a biodiversity conservation

A meeting between a JICA expert and Indonesian officials (Photo: JICA)

center is planned for construction), a natural environment conservation information center in Bogor and a management office and a research station in the Gunung Halimun National Park. Between 1995 and 2003, the government also implemented technical cooperation in developing a park management plan, enhancing monitoring of endangered species and promoting environmental education and ecotourism. These activities have allowed relevant information to be accumulated, developing excellent human resources and a strong network.

Furthermore, the "Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park Management Project" was launched in February

2004 to enhance the protection and management of the national park and use the experiences and knowledge gained there for other national parks to promote the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity in all national parks in Indonesia. Specifically, Japan has provided technical assistance in national park management methods including those to address vague park borders, illegal residents in parks, illegal logging and other common problems for national parks in Indonesia, to share information within park management offices and to enhance training.

At present, three JICA experts are working with Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park management officials to iron out an action program for the project. The Japanese aid workers and their counterparts are thus working hard together and making proposals to each other. Such cooperative efforts to implement a project based on mutual confidence are essential for successful technical cooperation.

A scene in the Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park