March 12, 2021 – SEOUL, South Korea – The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today during a virtual ceremony, laying the foundation for the two organizations to build research and development capacity in Nepal and jointly pursue opportunities to improve public health in the region.
George Bickerstaff, welcomed participants to the signing ceremony followed by congratulatory remarks from Mr. Ram Singh Thapa, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Nepal to Korea. Prior to the MOU signing, Dr. Pradip Gyanwali, Executive Chief of the NHRC, and Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, presented the work and aims of their respective organizations.
“IVI welcomes this new partnership agreement with NHRC to promote and build capacity for vaccine research and education. IVI and the government of Nepal, a signatory of IVI, have benefited from a long-standing research partnership including vaccine delivery campaigns, and we look forward to more opportunities with the NHRC to build sustainable solutions to Nepal’s public health problems,” said George Bickerstaff, Chairperson of IVI’s Board of Trustees.
“With this MOU, we will establish a synergistic health research collaboration to promote research and innovation for health in a range of clinical and public health research of mutual interests. This international scientific partnership shall foster transformation in health research in region through networking, technology transfer, dovetailing expertise and scientific information, and others.” said Dr. Pradip Gyanwali, Executive Chief of NHRC.
With this MOU, collaborative efforts may include Good Clinical Practice and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice trainings at medical schools and hospitals, and vaccinology courses to train young scientists, healthcare workers, and researchers.
