The nations in and around the confluence of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean are home to more than half the world’s population. Interaction among those nations is a crucial dynamic in global vitality. Ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific is thus a goal of transcendent importance. Fulfilling that goal hinges on political and economic coordination and also on commitment to realizing the promise of healthy and fulfilling lives for all.

Japan is a leader of long standing in universal health coverage, as exemplified by the nation’s universal health insurance system. That has helped make Japan one of the healthiest nations in the world. And Japan has shared its attainment in universal health coverage with other nations. That has included a tradition of engaging in international cooperation and extending official development assistance to needy nations in the realm of healthcare. It has also included tackling related government initiatives, such as the UHC Knowledge Hub. Meanwhile, nongovernmental Japanese entities have extended a diversity of hands-on guidance and technical support to Indo-Pacific healthcare providers. Here are two recent examples of that activity.

Furthering the benefits of minimally invasive surgery in the nations of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam is the Mekong Endo-Surgery Development Association (MESDA). Academic, corporate, and government parties converged to launch MESDA in Thailand in 2016. Japan’s Oita University was a cofounder of MESDA and has played a leading role in steering the association’s work.

“I got involved in training healthcare personnel in Thailand in 2004 through the Asian-Pacific Society for Digestive Endoscopy,” relates Oita University president Dr. Kitano Seigo. “Demand for quality healthcare rose along with economic growth in the Mekong Delta, and Oita University ended up spearheading the launch of MESDA.”

Oita University has dispatched to date 592 instructors who have trained 2,794 individuals at 39 MESDA seminars. Buttressing its activity in Southeast Asia is the Oita University Bangkok Office, which the university established in Mahidol University’s Siriraj Hospital in 2015.

The university has also been active in Japan in mobilizing support for MESDA, notably under the banner of the nonprofit organization Asian Medical Education and Training Support (AMETS）. That organization coordinates liaison among Japanese universities, hospitals, and medical associations to help disseminate advanced Japanese medical expertise in Southeast Asia. In addition, Oita University has participated in dispatching physicians to Asian nations through frameworks other than MESDA. That has included lending assistance to medical care in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Mongolia.

Hands-on

“The MESDA workshops,” notes Kitano, “are for equipping the participants to train other physicians, nurses, and technicians at their hospitals, as well as for improving their surgical skills. A workshop typically spans two days. A Japanese instructor and local trainer provide demonstrations on the first day as orientation in the principles of minimally invasive surgery, the procedures for ensuring safety, and the latest technological advances. On the second day, the trainees use actual endoscopic equipment in conducting supervised work on cadavers. Intermittent testing during the workshops monitors the trainees’ grasp of the material.”

Among the physicians to have benefited from Oita University’s training through MESDA is Dr. Naranon Boonyuen. He is a surgeon at Uttaradit Hospital, in the eponymous Thai province.

“I applied to undergo MESDA training on the advice of fellow surgeons,” explains Naranon, “and was fortunate enough to earn acceptance to participate in several workshops. The training was comprehensive and hands-on. It accelerated my learning curve and enhanced my confidence in applying advanced techniques.

“Minimally invasive surgery reduces postoperative pain, shortens hospital stays, and speeds recovery. Awareness of those benefits is rising, especially among younger surgeons and patients. Cost can still be a consideration for some patients, but patient education and professional development programs will expand acceptance and accessibility further.

“The biggest challenge in propagating minimally invasive surgery is that of deploying advanced techniques amid limited access to equipment and other resources. Sustaining progress in making the surgery more widely available will depend on providing follow-up mentorship, offering more opportunities for advanced training, and securing increased supplies of advanced equipment.”

The nonprofit organization Japan Heart was born in 2004 of its founder, Dr. Yoshioka Hideto’s experience in treating patients in Myanmar. “Our founding mission,” explains the Japanese nonprofit’s chief operation officer for Cambodia, Sato Sho, “was to extend medical care to regions where it was lacking.”

Dovetailing with Japan Heart’s commitment to broadening access to medical care is a commitment to broadening access to medical training. Cultivating human resources is a central emphasis in the NPO’s activity in Southeast Asian nations. A good example is the Bridge of Dreams scholarship program in Cambodia. Japan Heart provides medical school and nursing school scholarships to promising high school students who would otherwise be financially unable to attend university. The program, which dates from 2011, helps address a severe shortage of healthcare professionals. That shortage is a lasting echo of the Cambodian genocide of the latter 1970s, which decimated the ranks of physicians.

“Only about 40 physicians remained in Cambodia in 1980,” explains Sato. “A government effort to replenish their ranks through accelerated training sacrificed professional standards and diminished people’s confidence in hospitals and clinics. Japan Heart’s scholarship program contributes to raising standards and restoring confidence in healthcare.”

Dreams fulfilled

The scholarship program routes students from six high schools in the southern province of Prey Veng to a medical school and nursing school in the capital of Phnom Penh. Prey Veng is a largely agrarian province that lies to the east of the capital.

“Japan Heart pays the scholarship recipients’ tuition directly to the medical and nursing schools,” Sato continues. “Funding for the scholarships comes from Japanese households and companies that serve as ‘foster families’ to the students. The program presently provides about five scholarships a year. It has spawned 22 medical school and nursing school graduates who are now working as physicians and nurses, and 26 scholarship recipients are presently in medical school.”

On graduating from medical or nursing school, the scholarship recipients receive two years of training at a Japan Heart–operated hospital. The Japan Heart Medical Center operates in the city of Oudong in Kandal Province, which surrounds Phnom Penh. It has been serving patients since 2016. In October 2025, the Japan Heart Asia Children’s Medical Center opened in Ta Khmau, also in Kandal Province.

The interaction between Japan Heart and the prospects begins with the screening of scholarship candidates. Representatives of the NPO visit the homes of scholarship candidates to confirm the evaluation findings. Those selected for scholarships receive support from Japan Heart that begins with the move into higher education and continues with on-the-job training after graduation.

“Japan Heart helped me fulfill my dream of becoming a health worker,” exudes Sun Mey, a nursing subleader at the Japan Heart Medical Center. “I grew up near the border with Vietnam, and I always saw my relatives and neighbors go to Vietnam for treatment when they were sick. I wanted to make them see that Cambodian healthcare professionals are also capable.

“The scholarship I won from Japan Heart enabled me to attend nursing school and become a nurse. University was challenging, especially because my mother, father, and grandmother died while I was a student. I somehow managed to finish my education with the help of the people around me and went to work at Japan Heart when I graduated in 2019. Our work brings quality healthcare closer to people and strengthens communities by reducing travel time and expenses for getting care. My long-term goal is to continue to work in different provinces, to help organize the work at each location, and to teach younger nurses.”