[Top photo] Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega met with Director General Dr. Jerome H. Kim of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) on 26 May 2025 to formally convey the Philippines’ voluntary contribution of USD 20,000 to the IVI for FY2025. [Below photo] The Political and Economic Section led by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Reisha L. Olavario (fourth from left) and IVI officers Ms. Youngmi Cho (second from right), Ms. Jael C. Cheruiyot (leftmost) and Ruchirkumar Pansuriya (rightmost) were also present during the meeting.
08 June 2025, Seoul – Philippine Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, H.E. Theresa Dizon-De Vega together with the Political and Economic Section headed by Third Secretary and Vice Consul Reisha L. Olavario met with Dr. Jerome H. Kim, Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) on 26 May 2025 at the IVI Headquarters in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, ROK, to reaffirm the Philippines’ support to IVI’s programs and initiatives with a USD 20,000 voluntary contribution.
“We hope that the Philippines’ third voluntary contribution would help in some measure towards the capacity-building programs of the IVI. The Philippines has long been a reliable partner of IVI on global vaccine development and international health cooperation and we continue to align with the mission of the IVI to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global public health,” Ambassador Dizon-De Vega said.
Both sides also discussed the recent strides of the Philippines at the forefront of leadership on global public health, including the country’s significant milestones at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) where the Philippines presided over the global body for the first time since it was founded in 1948. The WHA likewise adopted the landmark Pandemic Agreement, strongly supported by the Philippines, to eliminate global inequalities in access to vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, and health technologies during pandemics and other crises. Ambassador Dizon-De Vega said that this aligns with the mission of the IVI in terms of vaccine development, equity of access and international cooperation. She conveyed that the Philippines is looking forward to further engagement with IVI on similar objectives.
For his part, Dr. Kim conveyed IVI’s appreciation for the Philippines’ support for the IVI’s work and for sending participants to the IVI’s capacity-building programs and welcomed the prospect of working even closer with Philippine health authorities and experts in fulfilling the mission of the IVI. END
Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega and the Political and Economic Section had a laboratory tour of the IVI conducted by Mr. Ruchirkumar Pansuriya. Bottom right: The Philippines works closely with IVI’s Global Affairs Department, led by Ms. Youngmi Cho (second from left) in pushing for inclusivity in vaccinology and other research-related trainings. To date, several members of the Department of Health and the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) have benefitted from this cooperation. 