August 12, 2024, SEOUL, Republic of Korea – The flag of the Republic of Austria was raised at IVI headquarters today to mark the country’s entry into IVI. Austria became IVI’s 27^th State Party on July 1, 2024, when it deposited an instrument of accession to IVI’s Establishment Agreement with the UN Treaty Office in New York. H.E. Wolfgang Angerholzer, Ambassador of Austria to the Republic of Korea, raised the flag, and Chul Lee, Director General of Korea’s International Organizations Bureau, attended the special ceremony.

Mr. George Bickerstaff, Chairperson of IVI’s Board of Trustees, said: “Today’s flag-raising ceremony is the culmination of a three-year effort between IVI and Austrian diplomats, scientists, and other advocates who recognized the mutual and strategic value of IVI-Austrian partnership, and the potential of this partnership to protect human life from the threat of infectious diseases.”

Mr. Johannes Rauch, Federal Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, said: “It gives me deep satisfaction that Austria is now a member of the International Vaccine Institute. Vaccinations are one of the most important and effective public health interventions in this day and age. The gradual expansion of the vaccination program in Austria is a significant objective in Austrian health policy, to provide the population with the most important vaccinations and to promote equal health opportunities. Only by working together globally in solidarity, are we able to curb, overcome, and even eliminate infectious diseases, and achieve a change in global health. Austria, its research institutions and industries, will actively contribute to the international research, development and delivery of vaccines. It is of utmost importance that we jointly advance the research and development in order to further facilitate low-threshold access to vaccines for people worldwide.”

Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said: “We proudly welcome Austria as an official State Party of IVI. With the generous support of the Austrian government, we are excited to expand vaccine R&D collaboration in Austria and Europe through IVI’s Country Office in Vienna. We are particularly grateful to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care, and Consumer Protection and the Ministry of Education, Science, and Research for their partnership in expanding IVI’s European presence and the core funding support to IVI.”

Austria is IVI’s 43rd Member State and 27th Party to its Establishment Agreement, the 1996 United Nations treaty that established IVI as an independent international organization, as well as the host of an IVI Country Office in Vienna.

The Agreement remains open for accession by any state or intergovernmental organization.

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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that also achieved WHO prequalification in early 2024.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, an Africa Regional Office in Rwanda, a Country Office in Austria, and a Country and Project Office in Kenya. IVI additionally co-founded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute in Hong Kong and hosts Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 42 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.

CONTACT

Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@www.ivi.int