In an interview with the BBC World Service on 30th October, Richard Feachem, Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, praised Japan for its contributions to the fund.

Feachem said that at the outset the fund would not have featured malaria in its remit, and that mainly due to the efforts of Japan it was included. As a result, millions of children were now alive that otherwise would have died.

Feachem also recognized the hard work being done by NGOs, in conjunction with government, in the area of reproductive health and family planning. Specifically mentioning Bangladesh for its successes in lowering the birth rate, Feachem said that NGOs were an important player in development and improving the lives of those in developing countries.