NEWS

On Saturday, April 25, 2015, the student-run executive committee “Spreading Maternal and Child Health Handbooks” organized a lecture at APU. Advisors from the Association for the Popularization of Maternal and Child Health Handbooks attended as guest speakers. The speakers were Ms. FUKUDA Kiyoko (wife of former prime minister FUKUDA Yasuo), Ms. KOMURA Haruko (wife of Liberal Democratic Party vice-president KOMURA Masahiko) and Ms. SHIROSAKI Yumi (in charge of Maternal and Child Health Handbook-related matters at the advertising agency Hakuhodo).

In the lecture, Ms. FUKUDA shared details of her own activities, while also explaining how spreading Japan’s system of maternal and child health handbooks throughout the world could help reduce infant mortality rates and contribute to people’s wellbeing. In addition, Ms. KOMURA used maternal and child health handbooks from other countries on display at the lecture to present in-depth examples of how the handbooks are currently being used around the world. She tailored the cases she presented to the countries of the international students present at the lecture.

A number of students gave their impressions on the lecture: “It helped me understand the important role that maternal and child health handbooks play, as well as their huge potential. I’d love to take part in the effort to spread their usage throughout the world,” said one student. The student group that organized the lecture is now collecting maternal and child health handbooks in use around the world, and is planning an exhibition of the handbooks in the future.