What Can We Do for Tohoku: Tohoku-related Projects

Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) and IMPACT Foundation Japan, two NGOs both holding Kiyoshi Kurokawa as a chair have cooperated to work for Project HOPE’s “Operation Rising Sun”.

Project HOPE, a U.S. -based global health education and humanitarian assistance organization has come right after the Tohoku big earth quake to seek ways to offer wide range of medical related relief assistance named as “Operation Rising Sun”.

From early May, number of teams of Project HOPE, consisted of volunteer specialized physicians, nurses and other health professionals, have provided various medical cares in the affected area. On May 31st, Iwate Prefecture and Project HOPE signed for their long term medical service assistance for redevelopment.

HGPI and IMPACT Japan have coordinated with the Japanese government and local prefectural governments as well as various medical related associations to make this operation happen.

About Project HOPE

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, as well as conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 35 countries.

Over the past five decades, Project HOPE has demonstrated its ability to develop and permanently institute long-term solutions to pressing health problems, the true essence of helping people help themselves.

Project HOPE remains as committed as ever to addressing the world’s new health threats by playing a leadership role forging new alliances among those on the frontlines of health and together seek new solutions.

Get to know more about Project HOPE’s Project in Tohoku

Project HOPE in Tohoku

Our Collaboration with Project Hope Continues

Click here for the photos of the disaster stricken area the doctors visited

I reported to you in my recent posting that our HGPI (Health and Global Policy Institute) and Impact Japan have been collaborating in a project with Project Hope since ’3.11′.

Two teams joined us already and had been to the stricken zones of Sanriku several times. Dr. Shimabukuro returned to Japan again (but then went back to UCLA right after…) to join for the second visit. Several other Japanese doctors working in the U.S. are also participating in our Project Hope team. They all are a great help.

At the breakfast meeting of HGPI, consisting mainly of the member companies, I quickly reported how this project is going on. Then, Drs Frederic Gerber and Darrel Porr introduced the background of the Project Hope, followed by an explanation of some of their activities of this joint project (ppt02とリンク).

I closed the meeting with a brief comment on the basic ideas on how to make plans for the health care in future.

The meeting was very well received by the participants. Given the situation of the disaster hit area, we think this project will continue for quite a long period of time and therefore are planning another breakfast meeting for larger audience, and ask the members of this Project to give briefing sessions in the future..

Drs Garber and Porr left Tokyo off to Iwate Prefecture immediately after our breakfast meeting.

Then, 4 days after their return to Tokyo, we had another De-briefing. This time, they met the governor of Iwate Prefecture, with an extensive discussions sessionwith the administration of Iwate Prefecture. Drs Hayashi (in Japanese), Kaku (in Japanese), and Yoshida also participated in this De-briefing. I became acquainted with these three doctors at the PCAT who joined our re-briefing session, and George who just arrived Tokyo from Project Hope to join us.

Dr. Gerber told me that he was leaving for South Africa the next day to participate in the inauguration of planning of Nelson Mandela Children Hospital (Project Hope is playing a leading role here, too).
Dr Hayashi is working in international settings (in Japanese) including MSF (in Japanese), Dr Kaku (in Japanese) is working in Haiti and other places, Dr Yoshida is currently working at Harvard School of Public Health and also is a mother to 4 children.

See the original post at Kiyoshi Kurokawa’s Blog (in Japanese) | flickr photos