Topics The First Neglected Tropical Diseases Student Contest and Online Event on World NTD Day 2024
January 30 is the World Health Organization's (WHO) World NTD Day, a day to think about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and connect the world. JPMA is a co-sponsor of the 2024 World NTD Day, and the NTD Subgroup of the JPMA International Affairs Committee participated in the planning stage of the event as a member of the World NTD Day, Japan Executive Committee in October 2023. This event was the first challenge to appeal the importance of NTDs control to the younger generation by giving shape to students' ideas, while all parties involved in Japan collaborated for the World NTD Day. We hope that this event will help increase understanding and interest in NTDs and provide an opportunity to learn more about the various efforts of pharmaceutical companies.
Scene of the webinar
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
NTDs is the collective name for a group of 21 tropical infectious diseases caused by parasites and bacteria that are prevalent mainly in tropical and subtropical regions and are closely related to poverty. They are called "neglected tropical diseases" because they have not been considered major diseases by developed countries. They affect one in five people worldwide, or more than 1.6 billion people.
NTD Day First Neglected Tropical Disease Student Contest
The "First Neglected Tropical Diseases Student Contest" has two categories: A category for students to present NTDs in an easy-to-understand video of 3 minutes or less, and B category for students to submit proposals on issues related to NTDs and what we can do in 1,300 words or less. The entries were open to students from junior high school to graduate school. The JPMA also co-sponsored this first attempt, and in accordance with the message of the JPMA award selection criteria, "We want to deliver drugs and thoughts together," the NTD sub-group members discussed and selected one of the most appealing entries.
Student Contest Final Judging (January 27, 2024)
From the 35 teams (79 applicants), the final selection was made by having the applicants present 5 works in the A category and 6 works in the B category that passed the preliminary selection both onsite and online. The presentations from the students ranged from those that were outstanding in their use of YouTube to attract an audience, to presentations that incorporated sign language and research that made use of their experiences visiting developing countries.
The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Award was presented to a junior high school student from Tokyo Gakugei University International Secondary School for his presentation, which showed that Japan's advanced medical technology could not only help developing countries develop human resources and improve social infrastructure such as health, sanitation, and education, but also lead to ownership and friendly relations with developing countries in the future. I felt that this could lead to a sense of ownership and friendly relations among developing countries in the future.
World NTD Day Online Event (January 30, 2024)
The event on January 30, 2024 consisted of three parts: a message from Japanese officials on the occasion of NTD Day, the award ceremony of the "First Neglected Tropical Diseases Student Contest," and a question session to learn about NTDs in an easy-to-understand manner from NTDs experts.
Please click here to watch the World NTD Day 2024 webinar video.
JAGNTD website https://jagntd.org/wntdd2024
Video message from JPMA Chairman Hiroaki Ueno
JPMA Chairman Hiroaki Ueno shared the same sentiment about the event created by the younger generation and delivered a video message at the beginning of the event. Chairman Ueno spoke about the significance of the pharmaceutical industry's contribution to NTDs, the challenges it faces, and his encouragement to the students who will be responsible for the future of the pharmaceutical industry as a key industry in the country.
Please click here to watch the video of Chairman Ueno.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK6j_eLq4Jc
Student Contest Award Ceremony
The Grand Prize (A and B categories), U-18 Special Prize (A and B categories), Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Award, and GHIT Award were announced, and the winners gave their comments.
The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Award was presented to Keika Hirono and Ayaka Miyazaki, third-year students at Tokyo Gakugei University International Secondary School. Izumi Fujii, a member of the NTD subgroup of the JPMA judging panel, commented, "The proposal utilizes Japan's advanced medical technology and shows a great deal of potential, and I respect the careful research and the dignified presentation. Mr. Hirono, representing the winners, commented, "In the course of my research for this contest, I learned about the disease dengue fever among NTDs, and I remembered how close I was to the horror of dengue fever when I lived overseas. At that time, I couldn't do anything about it, but this time, I think we were able to contribute a little because we sent out our own ideas. I had a lot of fun working with my friends.
Two recipients of the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Award
Teaching! Dr. Kunii
In a session on NTDs moderated by Osamu Kunii, CEO of the Global Health Technology Foundation, Takayuki Tobidan, a member of the JPMA's NTD subgroup, answered the question, "What are pharmaceutical companies doing to conquer NTDs? However, pharmaceutical companies do not just ship medicines from their factories and call it a day. He also explained how the company is fulfilling its responsibilities in collaboration with many partners around the world, including educating local medical staff about the disease and the significance of taking the medicines.
Concluding Remarks
The first challenge to promote the importance of controlling NTDs to the younger generation by giving shape to the students' ideas was successfully completed, with all parties in Japan working together for the World NTD Day. Normally, direct approaches from JPMA to the student generation are rare, but this method of approaching students, such as explaining the student contest using LINE and applying for the contest, will be helpful for future efforts to reach out to the younger generation regarding infectious disease control. Thank you for your support of the JPMA.
An overview of this event is also available on the JPMA website.
https://www.jpma.or.jp/globalhealth/event/ntd_event.html
( Takayuki Tobidan and Izumi Fujii, NTD Subgroup, Global Health Subcommittee, International Affairs Committee)