On 29th March, H.E. Godfrey Simasiku, Ambassador of Zambia to Japan, visited the Mayor of Musashino City, Morimasa Murakami, to thank him for the support his city has shown to the MCCOBA program. In fiscal year 2005, MCCOBA sent 206 bicycles to Zambia, 50 of which were from Musashino. Since MCCOBA started in 1988, over 4,500 bicycles have been sent to Zambia alone.

The ambassador told the mayor that the maternal mortality rate in Zambia of 750/10,000 live births was more than 80 times that in Japan, and that the infant mortality rate of 92/1,000 was more than 30 times greater.

He explained that the bicycles help women to receive ante- and postnatal care as community-based distributors and traditional birth attendants can visit clients in remote areas, conduct health checks, deliver information, and monitor those at risk.

The mayor said that he was happy to learn that the bicycles were being put to such good use, and that he now felt a responsibility to continue participation in MCCOBA.

The ambassador was accompanied by his wife, and he informed the mayor that she was collecting used clothing from Japanese NGOs that could be re-used in Zambia. Small efforts, he explained, such as this were a start in international development cooperation and could raise awareness among the public and lead to more assistance.

Mayor Murakami receives a small gift
from H.E. Godfrey Simasiku and his wife