THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 16, 2022 at 18:00 JST
Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates is greeted by South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo before their meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 16, 2022. (Pool Photo via AP)
SEOUL--Bill Gates on Tuesday called for South Korea to further step up in international efforts to prevent infectious diseases like COVID-19 as he stressed the need for the world to be better prepared for the next pandemic.
Speaking to South Korean lawmakers in Seoul, Gates called for stronger international cooperation, including efforts to develop vaccines that would be effective for a broader range of coronaviruses, to navigate what he described as a “crisis moment” in global health.
He said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and South Korea’s government have committed to a partnership aimed at addressing health disparities between countries and supporting efforts to eradicate infectious diseases in the developing world.
He noted South Korea’s strength in public health tools, research and vaccine manufacturing and praised the country’s pledge to donate $200 million to the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program that provides COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income nations.
“There’s a lot we need to do together--we need to reach deep, we need to build more partnership, we need to encourage the scientists,” Gates said in his speech at the National Assembly. “But I am confident that with these steps we can continue to radically improve global health, to cut the number of children dying in half again, to eradicate diseases like polio, measles and malaria, and improve the lives of all humans.”
Gates later met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who described government plans to promote the country’s bio-health industry and expressed a willingness to further cooperate with the Gates foundation to “improve the health of global citizens.” Gates said South Korea has been a “good partner” in his foundation’s health projects, including development of more accessible COVID-19 vaccines and work on HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
“We hope we can do more together,” Gates said, according to Yoon’s office.
Gates also met leaders of the SK business group to discuss cooperation on health projects. SK’s pharmaceutical arm, SK Bioscience, produces COVID-19 vaccines and has received funds from the Gates foundation to develop nasal sprays designed to help prevent coronavirus infections.
Chinese vaccines are poised to fill gap, but will they work?
December 25, 2020
United action on a global basis only way to defeat the pandemic
April 25, 2021World leaders pledge billions for virus vaccine research
May 5, 2020
EDITORIAL: Virus vaccines should be shared equally among the rich and poor
December 10, 2020
Asia welcomes U.S. vaccine donations amid cold storage worries
June 10, 2021Fujifilm to double capacity of Danish drug facility
June 10, 2020
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
