October 25, 2022 – SEOUL, Republic of Korea – The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) hosted a ceremony at its headquarters in Seoul today in recognition of the Kingdom of Thailand ratifying IVI’s establishment treaty and becoming the international organization’s 23rd state party. H.E. Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, made an official visit to IVI and raised the flag of Thailand during the ratification ceremony.
On March 8th of this year, the Cabinet of Thailand also approved an annual funding contribution to IVI starting from 2023, joining the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, and Finland as state funders.
George Bickerstaff, Chairperson of IVI’s Board of Trustees, said: “We commend the government of Thailand’s vision and commitment to accelerating vaccines for global health as a leading country of the ASEAN Vaccine Security and Self-Reliance initiative. We’re very grateful to Honorable Minister Anutin Charnvirakul for visiting IVI today, and we are proud to welcome the government of Thailand—important and long-time collaborators of IVI—as a state party and funder.”
H.E. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health of Thailand, said: “Thailand reaffirms its commitment to global public health by joining IVI. We have always aligned ourselves to a global health policy in the delivery of public healthcare, and vaccination is one of the top priorities. I strongly believe that a robust collaboration between Thailand and IVI will bring us many opportunities for vaccine research and development, and enable stronger immunization support globally.”
Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI, said: “IVI and Thai government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Health and National Vaccine Institute, universities, and research centers have been closely collaborating across a number of vaccine R&D projects with large implications for global health. Together, we’re working toward developing new vaccines as well as improved vaccine delivery methods for diseases such as COVID-19, chikungunya, and HPV—infectious diseases that affect not only Thailand but that continue to devastate communities around the world. IVI is extremely grateful for the government of Thailand’s partnership and increased support.”
Representing IVI’s first host country, Ms. Joo-yeon Kang, Director General of the Republic of Korea’s International Organization Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the Ratification Ceremony and provided congratulatory remarks.
Representatives from the Thai government also included:
- Opart Karnkawinpong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health
- Tares Krassanairawiwong, Director-General, Department of Disease Control
- Nakorn Premsri, Director of National Vaccine Institute
Thailand is a founding signatory to IVI’s Establishment Agreement, the 1996 UN treaty that established IVI as an independent international organization dedicated to vaccine research and development and strengthening vaccine technology capacity in developing countries. The IVI Agreement remains open for accession by any state or intergovernmental organization. Learn more about IVI and Thailand’s relations here.
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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, and Finland provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.
CONTACT
Aerie Em, Global Communications & Media Specialist
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int