Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Newsletter No.23September 2025
The 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Award Ceremony
On August 22,2025, the 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Award Ceremony hosted by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was held at Meiji Kinenkan. The ceremony held in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress was attended by approximately 140 people, including African leaders who attended the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), co-organizers of TICAD, heads of international organizations related to health and medicine, and members of the selection committee for the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize.
■ [Movie] The 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Award Ceremony (YouTube)）
The laureates for the 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Award receiving their awards from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Dr. Abdoulaye Djimdé (Medical Research category; left) / Dr. Luis Pizarro, Executive Director of DNDi (Medical Services category; right)）
Dr. Abdoulaye Djimdé and DNDi Received Prizes
At the award ceremony, Chairperson Osamu Kunii of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Committee, remarked on the achievements of the laureates and the reasons for their selection, after which Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivered an address, lauding the achievements of both laureates (Dr. Abdoulaye Djimdé and DNDi [Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative]) and presenting them with their medals.
In addition, His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola and Chair of the African Union, expressed congratulatory remarks on behalf of Africa, and the laureates gave their acceptance speeches.
■Award Ceremony - Program
［Reporting of Selection Results］ Osamu Kunii,
Chair of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Committee
［Address and presentation of prizes］Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba
［Congratulatory Remarks］His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço,
President of the Republic of Angola and Chair of the African Union
［Laureate Speeches］
Dr. Abdoulaye Djimdé (Medical Research category; Republic of Mali)
Dr. Luiz Pizarro, DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative)
(Medical Services category; Head Office in Switzerland)
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A scene at the awarding ceremony -
Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress
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Dr. Abdoulaye Djimdé -
Dr. Luiz Pizarro, Executive Director, DNDi
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Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister, Cabinet Office -
Osamu Kunii, Chairperson -
His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço
Laureate Speeches (Excerpts)
■Medical Research Category
Dr. Abdoulaye Djimdé
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Government and people of Japan, and I dedicate this prize to the people of the Republic of Mali.
When I began my research 30 years ago, 75 to 90 percent of children in a typical Malian village carried malaria parasites in their blood during the peak season. Today, that figure has fallen to an average of 20%.
While this shows that malaria can be overcome even in Africa's hardest-hit regions, such achievements are threatened by events such as climate change, drug resistance, armed conflict, declining funding, and pandemics. What we need is sustained political involvement, continued increases in funding, the active involvement of Africa's leading scientists in malaria research, and ongoing research and innovation to develop and deliver new tools.
With this prize, I want to call for a stronger commitment to expanding our network of collaboration, including with our colleagues in Japan, by mobilizing our energy and expertise against malaria, and training more young scientists in cutting-edge biomedical research and innovation.
I ask all of you to strengthen your efforts and commitment toward this goal, so that one day my dream of an Africa without malaria can become a reality.
I cannot fully express my gratitude to the people and Government of Japan, but in closing, let me say in the Dogon language of Mali to Japan: "Yaapoo, yaapoo, yaganna."
Thank you very much for your kind attention.
■Medical Services Category
Dr. Luis Pizarro, Executive Director, DNDi
DNDi was founded in order to develop new drugs for neglected patients. This mission strongly resonates with Dr. Noguchi's determination to always put patients first. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a boy named Beni was bitten by a tsetse fly and contracted sleeping sickness. This is a disease that affects the brain. He began to struggle in school and was forced to drop out, but after receiving treatment with a new, safe, and effective oral drug, he was cured.
The new drug was one of 13 new treatments developed by DNDi for diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis, and hepatitis C.These treatments have saved millions of lives. Enthusiastic partners, including governments of endemic countries, international donors, pharmaceutical companies, and university scientists, have joined our efforts. We also work in partnership with Japanese universities and pharmaceutical companies.
Our success is proof of the power of science to deliver real solutions to communities that are usually excluded from the benefits of progress, and is also a living example of the strength of international solidarity.These values have become more important than ever with today's cutbacks in foreign aid and attacks on scientific integrity.
I would like to thank the members of the selection committee for giving a voice to neglected patients, and our Japanese partners for their outstanding efforts to discover better drugs.
Events Related to 5th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize
After the award ceremony, the laureates visited Yokohama City, Dr. Noguchi's home prefecture of Fukushima, Osaka Prefecture, and Nagasaki Prefecture, and were warmly welcomed at each stop. In Yokohama Prefecture, they took part in a plaque-installation ceremony at the monument in Nagahama Hall. In Fukushima Prefecture, they met with the Governor, after which the Governor presented them with Certificates of Special Goodwill Ambassadorship in International Exchange. In Inawashiro, they attended a luncheon hosted by the Governor before visiting Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum, where the house in which Noguchi was born has been kept preserved. In Aizuwakamatsu, they visited the Hideyo Noguchi Seishunkan and took part in a discussion session with high school students. In Osaka Prefecture, they visited the Osaka University Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, as well as companies and other organizations, and served as guest speakers for a lecture at Osaka University. And in Nagasaki Prefecture, they served as guest speakers for a lecture at Nagasaki University.
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Nagahama Hall, Yokohama City -
Former bacteriological laboratory, Yokohama City
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Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum, Fukushima -
Awarded certificates by Governor of Fukushima Prefecture
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Hideyo Noguchi Seishunkan, Fukushima Prefecture -
Discussion session with high school students
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Lecture at Osaka University -
Lecture at Nagasaki University
Invitation for Donations for the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize Fund
As part of the prize money to be awarded for this prize, we are inviting donations widely from those who support the idea of this prize. Your goodwill donations will be used to support the activities of people who are playing active roles in improving medical research and medical services in Africa.
About inquiries for donations, please contact:
Citizen Participation Promotion Division, Domestic Strategy and Partnership Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
E-MAIL : jicata-kifu1@jica.go.jp
- Donations to Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize during 2007 – August 2025
655,984,604 YEN [Individual: 2,157, Corporation or Foundation: 578 (TOTAL: 2,735)]