[Media Coverage] SOIK's Initiatives Featured by Asahi Shimbun "With Planet" at AFRI CONVERSE 2026 #2

We are pleased to share that "Asahi SDGs ACTION! / With Planet," an SDGs media platform operated by the Asahi Shimbun, has featured the second session of AFRI CONVERSE 2026, held on May 15, 2026 at the JICA Okinawa Center, highlighting the participation and work of our Founder & CEO, Kuniyuki Furuta.

AFRI CONVERSE is an interactive seminar series related to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), co-organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Held in Okinawa, the second session was convened under the theme "Designing a World Without Distance: Delivering on 'Leave No One Behind' from Okinawa to Africa," exploring concrete partnerships to advance innovation in the health sector and improve access to healthcare.

Our Founder & CEO Kuniyuki Furuta speaking at the panel discussion of AFRI CONVERSE 2026 #2 (May 15, 2026, JICA Okinawa Center)

At the panel discussion "Reimagining Healthcare Access Beyond Distance," Furuta presented SOIK's work on the digitalization of maternal and child healthcare, centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—including the digitalization of antenatal consultations, the AI-assisted screening solution "SPAQ," and community-based surveillance of infectious diseases. Speaking from the position of a company headquartered in Okinawa with a subsidiary in Kinshasa, he shared SOIK's approach to overcoming the challenge of "distance" in remote and island regions through both digital technology and trust on the ground. Furuta noted that distance is not merely a matter of geographic kilometers, but an "information gap" between what is actually happening in the community—what is truly occurring in a pregnant woman's body—and what we are able to know. He emphasized that the key to solving this challenge lies not in technology alone, but in trust built with communities.

Co-organized by UNDP and JICA, the seminar brought together speakers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, OIST, the University of the Ryukyus, and others to discuss the healthcare access challenges shared by Okinawa and Africa, and the potential for solutions through Japan–Africa collaboration.

You can read the full article at the link below. Asahi Shimbun "With Planet" article: https://www.asahi.com/withplanet/article/16600703