The South Korean government has decided to provide a total of $28 million (approximately 37.2 billion won) to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Unitaid to respond to Ebola and strengthen global health security.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Chang Wook-jin, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, met separately in Seoul on Tuesday (October 20) with Jane Halton, Chair of the CEPI Board, and Anne-Claire Amprou, Chair of the Unitaid Executive Board, and signed contribution agreements with both parties.

CEPI is an international health partnership that supports the development and stockpiling of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, while Unitaid is a public-private partnership that supports the development and distribution of medicines for three major infectious diseases (AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria).

The government plans to provide $15 million to CEPI and $13 million to Unitaid.

Of these amounts, earmarked contributions for the Ebola response are $10 million and $8 million, respectively.

Deputy Minister Chang also discussed with both sides measures to develop vaccines and treatments for emerging infectious diseases and expand cooperation with South Korean biotech companies.

(Photo courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yonhap News)