Founder & Director (GMC-Africa / MedEqual Japan)
Pediatrician
About Me
Nice to meet you. My name is Naoya Sakai. I founded Global Medcare Africa (GMC Africa) and serve as its representative. To read about how the organization came to be, please see this post.
Career
| 2015 – 2021 | Niigata University |
| 2021 – 2023 | Okinawa Prefectural Nanbu Medical Center & Children’s Medical Center |
| 2023 – 2024 | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center |
| 2024 – 2024 | Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital, Emergency Department |
| 2024 – 2025 | Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Department of Pediatrics |
| 2025 – Present | Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Department of Pediatrics (part-time) Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center, Department of Pediatrics |
How I Became Interested in Healthcare in Developing Countries, and My Goal
Why I became interested in healthcare in developing countries
It all started when I was still a student, on a cruise tour in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. There I met a group of 16-year-old boys working on the boat. They served us in fluent English and were remarkable young people, combining strong communication skills with real professionalism. What impressed me most was their drive: while doing their jobs, these boys, only 16, asked me to teach them Japanese. They were working to make a living, with no guarantee their efforts would ever pay off, yet they never stopped trying to better themselves. Seeing this made me painfully aware of how easy my own life had been. It was a strong shock, and it led me to resolve to live in a way I would never be ashamed of before anyone. At the same time, I came to wish strongly for a world in which effort is fairly rewarded.
Later I visited countries such as Malaysia and Myanmar and saw their healthcare settings with my own eyes. Care that is taken for granted in Japan was extremely limited there, and many people’s lives were at risk. Having grown up comfortably in Japan, I felt an indescribable sense of guilt. I was reminded of a simple truth: countless people cannot even meet their need for safety, let alone reach “self-actualization” in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I realized that before a world where effort is fairly rewarded, we first need to aim for a world where health and safety are guaranteed no matter where you are born.
“As a healthcare professional, for whom, and how, can I make a contribution?”
Building my career as a physician while asking myself this question (and I am still asking it), I developed a clear sense of mission: to help children in developing countries as a pediatrician.
It is not very realistic to expect healthcare problems in developing countries to be solved by local efforts alone. That is why I came to feel strongly about the need for a “redistribution of healthcare” from developed to developing countries. I believe that if those of us living in relatively privileged circumstances bring together like-minded people, build a strong team, support local communities and create a sustainable system of medical support, we can help raise the standard of healthcare in developing countries.
“Creating a world without healthcare inequality”: this is my lifelong mission.
How I Came to Africa
After finishing my research in the United States, I had a few months of free time, and without thinking too hard I signed up to volunteer in Tanzania. The month I spent working in the ER and ICU of a hospital in Arusha shook my values to the core. I had been to Southeast Asia before, but Africa was a completely different world. The language and culture were new, and I was thrilled, as if I had stepped into another world. The curiosity for new things that I had long forgotten came flooding back, and every day was full of stimulation. The reality of healthcare there, however, was harsher than I had imagined: patients who could not receive treatment because they had no money, and even major hospitals lacking adequate medical equipment. Faced with the sad reality that the value of a life could depend on money, I sometimes felt powerless. Even so, the healthcare staff and patients I met were remarkably cheerful, kind and warm-hearted. I was deeply moved by their dedication and by the way they lived without losing hope in such limited circumstances.
“I want to do something that makes a positive difference. What can I do?”
This question took hold of me. The experience changed the direction of my life and led me to found GMC-Africa.
As a pediatrician, I want to care for individual patients, while also working at the population level in the field of global health. Beyond the motivations described above, I also hope to realize my own potential through this work. Thank you all for your continued support.