Report on the JPMA Side Event Held in New York during the 81st United Nations Assembly (UNGA 81)
How Do We Build Resilient & Sustainable Health Systems? Perspectives on Health-Finance Collaboration, Innovation and Future Preparedness
Event Overview
| Date and Time
| Thursday, September 24, 2026, 8:00–9:15 a.m. |
|---|---|
| Venue | The Harvard Club of New York City |
| Organizer | Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) |
| Supported by | Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations |
| Supported by | International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) |
Purpose and Overview
Held during the UNGA High-Level Week, the event aimed to facilitate the exchange of practical approaches to building resilient health systems, including health-finance collaboration and sustainable investment. Discussions focused on how these approaches can help ensure that medical innovation improves health outcomes and strengthens preparedness for future pandemics and other public health emergencies, including pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR). The event also sought to promote peer learning across countries.
Master of Ceremonies: Dr. Go Takahashi, Managing Director, JPMA
Proceedings
(1) Opening Remarks
Mr. Sunao Manabe, Vice Chairman, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Dr. Manabe thanked the participants, speakers, moderator, and supporting organizations—the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations and IFPMA—for their contributions to the event.
He emphasized that resilient and sustainable health systems are fundamental to achieving better health outcomes. Given the differences in national contexts, there is no single solution that works for every country. He stressed the importance of peer learning, through which countries can share experiences and challenges and learn from one another.
Dr. Manabe also called for a shift in perspective, recognizing health expenditure not merely as a cost but as an investment in people, communities, and sustainable development. He underscored the need for stronger collaboration between the health and finance sectors and for sustainable health financing.
Furthermore, he noted that medical innovation alone cannot deliver its full potential without health systems capable of ensuring its safe, effective, and sustainable use. He highlighted the importance of collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including governments, international organizations, and the private sector.
(2) Setting the Scene: Building Resilient and Sustainable Health Systems
Dr. Yasushi Taira, Chief Representative of JICA USA Office
Dr. Taira presented a central message: innovation expands the possibilities of healthcare, but health systems determine whether it translates into equitable and meaningful health outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the tremendous potential of innovation, including the rapid development of vaccines. At the same time, it exposed persistent gaps in the systems needed to deliver innovation to people, including healthcare workforce capacity, testing infrastructure, infection prevention and control, and supply chains.
He emphasized that resilient health systems must be able to prepare for crises, maintain essential health services, respond effectively, learn from experience, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Dr. Taira also shared the example of JICA's long-standing support for Vietnam, including the development of laboratory networks, strengthening of hospital functions, and healthcare workforce development. These investments proved valuable in responding to COVID-19. He stressed the importance of strengthening health system capacity during peacetime rather than waiting until a crisis occurs.
He further highlighted the need for close collaboration between health and finance ministries. In this context, he referred to the UHC Knowledge Hub, established in Tokyo by the Government of Japan, WHO, and the World Bank, as a platform to promote peer learning on health financing and help translate knowledge into implementation.
Financing for Resilient Health Systems
Dr. Monique Vledder, Director of Health, World Bank Group
Dr. Vledder noted that the operating environment for global health is becoming increasingly challenging, with declining official development assistance (ODA), fragmented financing, and growing vulnerabilities. At the same time, new opportunities are emerging through AI, digital technologies, and the expanding role of the private sector.
She outlined the World Bank's goal of enabling 1.5 billion people to access quality essential health services, supported by three key pillars:
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Strengthening primary health care (PHC)
Financing support across 110 countries, with a scale of approximately US$30 billion.
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Establishing sustainable health financing
Strengthening domestic resource mobilization and supporting collaboration between the health and finance sectors, including through the UHC Knowledge Hub established in Japan.
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Promoting local manufacturing and resilient supply chains
Supporting local production capacity, including vaccine manufacturing initiatives in ASEAN.
Dr. Vledder also shared an example of the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC) in Tanzania, where the introduction of neonatal resuscitation devices, combined with practical training for healthcare workers, showed a trend toward a 50% reduction in newborn deaths within 24 hours of birth. The initiative was subsequently scaled up nationwide with government budget allocations and financing from the International Development Association (IDA).
This example demonstrated how private-sector technologies and innovations can be integrated into public health systems and scaled up sustainably. She underscored the importance of sustainable financing and long-term partnerships in achieving lasting impact.
(4) Interactive Discussion: From Perspectives to Action
Moderated by Ms. Betty Baisiwa Dowuona-Hammond, the interactive discussion brought together participants from governments, international organizations, the private sector, NGOs, research institutions, and other organizations.
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Building Resilient Health Systems
Participants highlighted the need to strengthen resource allocation to primary health care and shift from a treatment-centered approach toward prevention and early intervention. Health systems are already under considerable pressure from healthcare workforce shortages, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), even in the absence of a major crisis.
A case from Kenya illustrated how a telemedicine initiative changed its approach in response to patient feedback. Instead of providing remote consultations directly to patients at home, the program enabled patients to receive remote consultations at local health facilities with the support of healthcare workers. Following this change, the service reached more than 20,000 users.
The case underscored that innovation should be designed around the actual needs of patients and communities, rather than being driven primarily by technology. -
Financing to Support Resilience
Examples from Ghana's public health insurance system and the use of private capital, including impact funds, highlighted that resilience depends not simply on the size of a country's GDP or the amount of funding available, but also on political commitment, effective resource allocation mechanisms, sound institutional design, and implementation capacity.
Participants emphasized that support must extend beyond setting policy objectives to addressing the practical details of implementation, including premium structures, provider reimbursement, payment mechanisms for preventive services, and data-driven improvements.
Health expenditure should be viewed not merely as a cost but as an investment that supports social and economic productivity. A whole-of-government approach, involving both health and finance ministries, was considered essential.
The discussion also highlighted how technologies from outside the health sector can contribute to better health outcomes. Energy-efficient ventilation systems for healthcare facilities in hot and humid regions were cited as an example of how cross-sector collaboration can help balance infection prevention needs with energy costs. -
Conditions for Translating Innovation into Sustainable Impact
Participants observed that global health has more pilot projects than the aviation industry has pilots. This highlighted the challenge of moving beyond repeated short-term pilots toward sustainable implementation at scale.
To address this challenge, initiatives should engage governments from the outset, establish mechanisms to measure outcomes, secure sustainable financing, and plan for institutionalization and incorporation into public budgets.
Examples included a cancer fund in Nigeria and the adoption of pathology quality standards into policy in Brazil. These cases illustrated the importance of government commitment, co-design with local stakeholders, and long-term public-private partnerships in translating pilot projects into sustainable programs. -
Peer Learning Across Countries and Future Collaboration
Participants shared examples of cross-country learning, including Kenya's adoption of knowledge gained from Tanzania's experience with neonatal monitoring and India's use of existing digital payment and identification infrastructure to establish foundations for digital health services.
The discussion highlighted the value of continuous learning platforms that facilitate the exchange not only of successful practices but also of implementation challenges and practical lessons learned by those responsible for delivering programs.
Early engagement with communities, including Indigenous peoples and rural populations, was also emphasized as an important element of effective program design.
(5) Key Takeaways
Ms. Betty Baisiwa Dowuona-Hammond, Moderator
In summarizing the discussion, the moderator highlighted four key takeaways:
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Resilience is built through long-term investment during peacetime, rather than through crisis response alone.
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Effective allocation and use of limited resources are as important as securing funding.
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Innovation delivers value when health systems have the capacity to implement, scale, and sustain it.
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Peer learning across countries and sectors, together with sustainable partnerships, is essential.
(6) Closing Remarks
Dr. Takuma Kato, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, delivering remarks on behalf of Dr Ezoe Satoshi, Senior Assistant Minister for Global Health, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (MHLW)
Dr. Kato expressed appreciation to JPMA and all those involved in the event. He emphasized that health systems protect lives and maintain essential services during health emergencies, while also underpinning broader social and economic stability.
He noted that the value of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other medical innovations can only be fully realized when they reach the people who need them through sustainable financing, a capable healthcare workforce, supportive policies, and quality health services.
He stressed that medical innovation and health system strengthening must go hand in hand; neither alone is sufficient to achieve sustained improvements in health outcomes.
He also highlighted Japan's leadership in promoting universal health coverage (UHC) and the role of the UHC Knowledge Hub, established by the Government of Japan, WHO, and the World Bank, in supporting collaboration between the health and finance sectors. He concluded by emphasizing the importance of viewing investment in health as an investment in the future and of further strengthening public-private and multilateral cooperation.
JPMA Reflections and Conclusions
The event reinforced a shared understanding that resilient and sustainable health systems are essential to maximizing the benefits of medical innovation and strengthening preparedness for future public health emergencies.
In particular, the discussions reaffirmed the importance of cross-sector collaboration between health and finance, sustainable investment tailored to national contexts, and long-term partnerships that extend beyond short-term pilot projects. The value of continuous peer learning across countries was also underscored.
As the representative organization of Japan's research-based pharmaceutical industry, JPMA will continue to deepen public-private collaboration and dialogue with international organizations, contributing actively to global health and the development of resilient and sustainable health systems.
International Committee, Multilateral Advocacy Group (JPMA)