JICA expert honoured with ‘For People’s Health’ Medal

The presentation ceremony was held in Hanoi on March 1, in the presence of Vietnamese Health Minister Dao Hong Lan, Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Shige Watanabe and First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam Sasaki Shohei.

During his two-year work in Vietnam from March 2022, Dr Shobayashi Tokuaki is highly appreciated through his policy consulting activities in the areas of health insurance, prevention of infectious diseases, management of registration of circulation of medical equipment and medicine, and the training and management of medical human resources.

Dr Shobayashi Tokuaki also went on business trips to 26 provinces and cities across Vietnam to learn about the health service systems at the provincial, district and commune levels, thereby making useful recommendations to the Health Ministry to narrow the gap in the quality of medical services between levels.

At the ceremony, the JICA expert expressed his appreciation for working at the Health Ministry during the past two years. According to him, although he sometimes encountered difficulties at work, his colleagues at the Ministry of Health always gave him respect and trust, and they had a desire to learn from Japan’s experience in policy building in areas where the Health Ministry is trying to make reforms.

Dr. Shobayashi has 30 years of experience in infectious disease control, health promotion, health insurance, hospital management, mental health and maternal and child health care at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.