Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan will contribute $1 billion through March 2019 to assist children and youth as part of U.N. efforts to combat poverty and hunger.

The contribution will focus "on children and youth, particularly in the areas of education, health, disaster risk reduction and gender equality," Kishida said Monday at a high-level U.N. political forum on sustainable development.

Kishida is among top officials from around the world who have gathered to discuss ways to promote a set of 17 goals adopted by U.N. member states in 2015 as part of a global action plan.