April 1, 2022, SEOUL, Republic of Korea — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), Republic of Korea, have agreed to strengthen cooperation to promote the development and delivery of vaccines and bio manufacturing workforce training for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to help advance global health.
IVI and MOHW exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which replaces their 2017 MOU to broaden areas of cooperation, at a signing ceremony at IVI headquarters in Seoul on April 1. In attendance at the ceremony were Health and Welfare Minister Dr. Kwon Deok-cheol, Director General Dr. Jerome Kim, Deputy Director General of Government & Public Relations Dr. Kyung Taik Han, and Deputy Director General of Science Dr. Manki Song from IVI.
Under the MOU, the two sides agreed to cooperate in all stages of vaccine development, ranging from discovery of vaccine candidates, pre-clinical testing and vaccine clinical trials (including overseas clinical trials). They also agreed to jointly support development, manufacturing and delivery of these vaccines to countries in need; facilitate joint research in vaccines and biopharmaceuticals between businesses, universities, and laboratories in Korea; and provide training and education of global vaccine (and bio) workforce to enhance LMICs’ vaccine production capacity.
Notably, IVI will operate the ‘Global Bio-Intensive Training Courses,’ the first of its kind, this year to train 450 professionals from LMICs and Korea in vaccine and bio manufacturing with funding support from MOHW. This training hub will be utilized by the WHO as a part of a global strategy for the development of vaccine manufacturing capacity.
“In a pandemic, no one is safe until everyone is safe. We have realized that solidarity and cooperation of all mankind is most important in addressing the global health crisis,” Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said. “IVI’s mission of developing and delivering vaccines to LMICs shares the common goal with the Korean government’s vaccine hub strategy in that both will contribute to reducing vaccine inequity around the world. As MOHW and IVI join forces, I am confident we will generate bigger impact.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded IVI and Korea elevate their cooperation to a new level.” Dr. Jerome Kim said. “In the face of the pandemic, the world also recognized the need to improve vaccine production and distribution to ensure vaccine equity. Korea is emerging as a global vaccine powerhouse and was designated as a bio workforce training hub by the WHO. Korea and IVI have shared interests and are poised to synergize in their efforts to secure vaccine equity, global health security and advance global health.”
###
About the International Vaccine Institute
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a nonprofit inter-governmental organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, IVI was the first international organization hosted by Korea. IVI has 38 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on its treaty, including Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland as state funders.
Our mandate is to make vaccines available and accessible for the world’s most vulnerable people. We focus on infectious diseases of global health importance such as cholera, typhoid, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, Group A Strep, Hepatitis A, HPV, TB, HIV, MERS, COVID-19, as well as antimicrobial resistance. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int