Ministers of health, development and finance from Asia and the Pacific, as well as representatives from international and bilateral agencies, gathered in Tokyo on 21-22 June 2005 to discuss how to accelerate progress towards meeting targets on health set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Together they took stock of progress and identified challenges and opportunities towards the achievement of the health MDGs.

The MDGs, which were endorsed by 189 nations in the year 2000, serve as a roadmap for development, with targets to be reached by 2015. The health MDGs cover priority issues – maternal mortality, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Other MDGs concern issues related to health, which are nutrition, water and sanitation, and environmental issues. It is becoming clear that, to achieve the goals in these areas, major investments will need to be made in strengthening health systems.

Hosted by the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the World Health Organization, the Forum focused on actions that can be initiated at country level and strengthened through regional cooperation. Lessons from experience and good practice examples from countries were also discussed.

Two global High Level Forums on the Health MDGs, co-organized by WHO and the World Bank, have already taken place, in January 2004 in Geneva and December 2004 in Abuja, respectively. The third meeting of the global High Level Forum was held in Paris on 14-15 November 2005.