SwitchPoint, an annual conference focused on global health innovation, arrived in Japan for the first time on August 31st as SwitchPoint Shibuya: The Crossroads of Health and Innovation in Africa. The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE)/Friends of the Global Fund, Japan (FGFJ), together with IntraHealth International and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) worked to bring SwitchPoint to Tokyo on the sidelines of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7).
SwitchPoint Shibuya was a networking event that sought to foster innovative partnerships and approaches to tackling some of the world’s greatest humanitarian issues around health challenges in Africa—in particular the fight to end the region’s AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics—by bringing together a younger generation of leaders in support of public healthcare workers and inventive approaches to service delivery. The event featured activists, entrepreneurs, and innovators as speakers to inform participants about the latest discoveries, tools, and collaborations being mobilized on the ground to drive public health progress in Africa.
The conference took place at EDGEof, a cutting edge creative studio in Shibuya, and included performances by up-and-coming artists from both Africa and Japan.
Other Events at TICAD7
In addition to SwitchPoint Shibuya, JCIE will be working with partners in Japan and around the world to host three official TICAD7 side-events:
