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| ▲ Kweon Ki-hwan (R), deputy foreign minister for global and multilateral affairs at South Korea's foreign ministry, speaks with Philippe Duneton, Unitaid's executive director, on Nov. 13, 2024, in this photo provided by the foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
S Korea-Unitaid
S. Korea pledges US$17 mln contribution to Unitaid for global health support
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea pledged Wednesday to provide an additional US$17 million to a global health initiative to help prevent infectious diseases like tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries, the foreign ministry said.
The government signed an agreement on its commitment to providing the funds to Unitaid, a global health organization engaged in funding for such efforts, following a meeting between Kweon Ki-hwan, deputy foreign minister for global and multilateral affairs, and Philippe Duneton, Unitaid's executive director, the ministry said in a release.
The funds will be delivered through the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, an initiative established to promote the development and production of and equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatment.
Seoul's donation to Unitaid will increase to a total of $22 million.
Unitaid is a body co-founded in 2006 by Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and Britain under the World Health Organization to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries.
In the meeting with Duneton, Kweon explained South Korea's efforts toward strengthening global health systems through cooperation with global bodies like Unitaid, and noted the importance of the international community working together to prevent pandemics in the future.
Kweon also asked for Duneton's support for more substantive cooperation between South Korean bio companies and Unitaid.
South Korean companies provided COVID-19 test kits to countries like Senegal during the pandemic.
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