Seoul, Nov 22 South Korea has pledged to contribute $100 million to the Global Fund for three years, beginning in 2026, reaffirming its commitment to international efforts to combat major infectious diseases, according to the foreign ministry on Saturday.
Kweon Ki-hwan, deputy minister for multilateral global affairs at the ministry, announced the pledge during the Global Fund’s eighth replenishment summit held Friday in Johannesburg, South Africa, reports Yonhap news agency.
The Global Fund, established in 2002, is the world’s largest international public-private partnership dedicated to preventing and eradicating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Kwon highlighted the Global Fund’s achievements over the past two decades, including saving an estimated 70 million lives from the three diseases. He also underscored the need for greater efficiency, the introduction of innovative health products and improvements in program delivery amid a changing global development landscape.
The South Korean government said it will work to enable greater participation by Korean companies in the Global Fund’s disease-response programs.
Meanwhile, a senior South Korean diplomat has called for international efforts to ensure an effective implementation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) arms embargoes to curb illicit trade of small arms and light weapons, the foreign ministry said.
Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jina made the remark during a UNSC meeting on small arms control at the U.N. headquarters in New York, voicing concerns over such trade flows contributing to the spread of armed violence and transnational crimes, and hindering sustainable development.
Kim underscored the need to effectively implement UNSC arms embargoes and address opportunities and challenges arising from new technologies.
Following the UNSC session, Kim met with U.N. Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed during which she stressed efforts to strengthen the U.N.-oriented multilateralism to respond to common challenges faced by the international community.
—IANS
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