The Government of Korea triples its contribution to global health organization Unitaid in 2023
Geneva – The Republic of Korea announced a $15 million contribution to global health organization Unitaid to support the implementation of its strategy. $10 million of these funds will support Unitaid’s work in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response by helping countries shift from an acute COVID-19 response to long-term preparedness, and the remaining $5 million will support Unitaid’s programmatic priorities in other disease areas.
Since Unitaid’s inception in 2006, the Republic of Korea has been a key donor and member of its Executive Board, having so far contributed a total of $95 million to support Unitaid’s essential role in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and more recently COVID-19.
“Unitaid is grateful for the Republic of Korea’s longstanding support and increased financial contribution this year to prepare the world for future global health emergencies. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Government of Korea and the private sector,” said Unitaid Executive Director Dr. Philippe Duneton. “Korean industries play a critical role in the development of innovative treatments, tests and tools that Unitaid makes accessible and affordable to those who need them most,” he added.
The announcement comes on the heels of Unitaid’s participation in the 2023 World Bio Summit in Seoul co-hosted by the Republic of Korea and the World Health Organization.
Media contacts:
For more information and media requests:
Hervé Verhoosel
Head of Communications and Spokesperson
M: +33 6 22 59 73 54
Kyle Wilkinson,
Communications Officer
+41 79 445 17 45
Unitaid to support access to monoclonal antibodies in low- and middle-income countries with new call for proposals
The deadline for proposal submission is 1 March 2024.
Monoclonal antibodies are manufactured versions of proteins that mimic those generated by the immune system to defend ourselves from diseases. They can be developed to treat or prevent a range of diseases and are already transforming modern medicine in high income countries. With their potential to provide faster, more tolerable and highly efficacious protection, they also hold great promise for addressing public health needs in low- and middle-income countries – but there is a stark global inequity in access to these products.
Very high prices, insufficient production capacity and limited visibility on demand and users’ perspectives are amongst the key barriers that limit the use of monoclonal antibodies in low- and middle-income countries. This perpetuates the lack of interest in infectious disease markets and does not incentivize innovation to simplify and reduce the cost of production and delivery.
Unitaid seeks to support efforts to demonstrate the feasibility and viability of business models that could reduce the cost of production and delivery and enable sufficient production capacity of monoclonal antibodies, to render the most promising products – including those already approved or in the development pipeline – accessible in LMICs.
The ultimate goal is to establish models for widespread and equitable access to monoclonal antibodies so they can deliver the greatest impact as they emerge from the pipeline, to complement other tools and improve the global health response to major public health needs in low- and middle-income countries.
Read more about this latest call for proposals and how to apply here.