October 20, 2023, SEOUL, Republic of Korea — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health, held its inaugural Global Council meeting yesterday in Seoul, establishing a new representative body for all IVI State Parties. On the first day of the two-day meeting, country delegates focused discussions on the importance of robust vaccine ecosystems in every part of the world in an era of increasing outbreaks of infectious diseases.
The Global Council is a platform for IVI’s state parties to discuss needs and solutions for vaccine research, development, and implementation as well as issues of vaccine equity, access, and capacity-building at global, regional, and national levels. As an advisory body of IVI, the council advises the Board of Trustees (BOT) and management on goals and strategies to ensure the perspectives of state parties are heard and reflected.
Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said: “While the attention of many have moved on from the pandemic and vaccines to other pressing crises of the day, IVI remains committed to the development of vaccines against poverty-associated diseases and diseases of pandemic potential; providing training and capacity-building for vaccine R&D workers in LMICs, and laying the groundwork for the African Vaccine Alliance, a proposal to achieve sustainable African vaccine manufacturing by building a sustainable, end-to-end, pan-African approach to vaccine R&D.
Today, representatives of the IVI Global Council will be asked to reflect and advise on IVI’s work, and we look forward to discussing our strategies and activities with you.”
George Bickerstaff, Chair of IVI’s BOT, said: “We decided to form the Global Council at the Board meeting last year. For us, it’s very important to hear from you and get your ideas. We need your help, and we need your input; as we make strategic moves, we’re counting on you to help us make sure we’re headed in the right direction. Our ask of you today is to listen, learn, and give us feedback to guide IVI for the next 26 years.”
Today, country delegates also had the opportunity to visit IVI headquarters on the campus of Seoul National University and learn more about IVI’s ongoing work across the entire spectrum of vaccine development. At the same time, IVI’s Global Advisory Group of Experts (GAGE), chaired by Dr. Deborah Birx, Senior Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, held its second annual meeting. GAGE is another advisory body providing strategic guidance on matters of global health and diplomacy while facilitating partnerships with key government stakeholders and industry groups.
Addressing the Global Council, Dr. Deborah Birx, Chair of IVI’s GAGE, said: “The reason you are all here and the reason you are so important is we’ve learned now creating vaccines and interventions in a vacuum does not lead to utilization of those tools. We need to understand what kind of information is needed to talk to citizens about the threat of infectious diseases and the tools we have to combat them. The amount of skepticism today is daunting. Part of that is because we didn’t engage with you all enough. Science doesn’t go forward without policy. I’m hoping that with your advocacy and your advocacy back home you can make it clear the threat of infectious diseases to businesses and the threat we face as a global community.”
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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 is currently under assessment for WHO PQ.
IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 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@ivi.int