The Republic of Korea has announced new $18.9 million support to bolster national and global efforts to protect against the next deadly pandemic and boost international health security.
The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide the important funding as its annual contribution to investments in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an international organisation committed to advancing the development of vaccines and other tools to protect against emerging viral threats —like MERS, Lassa fever, Chikungunya and a new ‘Disease X’—in as little as 100 days so they are accessible to all in need.
The new financial contribution agreement was signed at a meeting with Ambassador Minjeong Seo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Norway, and the CEO of CEPI, Dr Richard Hatchett, held at CEPI’s Headquarters in Norway’s capital, Oslo.
The funds will support CEPI’s pandemic preparedness and response efforts through to the end of 2026, before the public-private partnership launches its new strategy. The new pandemic preparedness plan, CEPI 3.0, will focus on building the world’s readiness to deliver the 100 Days Mission in response to the next global epidemic or pandemic crisis.
CEPI also continues to engage with leading supercomputing platforms such as Korean Institute for Science Technology Information (KISTI), which is hosted at the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT, to discuss the potential of Korea as an exemplar AI hub for outbreak response.
