WASHINGTON D.C., May 9, 2022Japan has announced an additional contribution of US$30 million to the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund Program (HEPR Program).Our additional contribution to the HEPR Program will help vulnerable countries, including in Africa, FCV and Small Island States, to build resilient societies for addressing health emergencies from multiple origins,” said Mr Kentaro Ogata, Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Japan. “For that, it is important to promote multi-sectoral Crisis Preparedness across various sectors, such as disaster risk management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental standards, food and nutrition security, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), gender empowerment, and digitalization.”

"As the founding donor of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund, we are grateful for Japan’s strong leadership in health security globally. With its help, we have provided nearly US$100 million to 27 countries and regions to prevent and respond to health emergencies,” said Juan Pablo Uribe, the World Bank’s Global Director for Health, Nutrition, and Population. “The additional US$30 million contribution will support many countries to address the triple challenge of COVID-19 response and vaccination, recovery and rebuilding essential health services after COVID-19, and improving health security for future emergencies.”

For the full news release, read more here.