South Korea’s Covid handling a lesson for future pandemic response: Unitaid chief

Seoul, Nov 12 (IANS) The chief of a global initiative tasked with providing affordable treatments to low-and-middle income nations has said that South Korea’s effective handling of Covid-19 can offer valuable lessons for the world in addressing future pandemics and existing diseases.

“Korea managed the pandemic in the best way in the world,” Unitaid Executive Director Philippe Duneton said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency, noting that the country has shown “discipline and communication,” as well as “collective intelligence and responsibility.”

Duneton was visiting South Korea to take part in the World Bio Summit, co-hosted by the health ministry and the World Health Organization in the country’s western port city of Incheon, under the theme of “Future investments for a healthy and secure decade.”

“I think what was really impressive about the Republic of Korea is that it is one of the rare countries in the world that did not undergo a total shutdown,” Duneton said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

“We will use this learning even outside a pandemic situation because we have to fight HIV, tuberculosis and other diseases,” he added.

Unitaid, established in 2006, works to provide pharmaceutical support to developing nations, targeting major diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

South Korea, a major donor to the organization, has contributed a total of US$95 million as of the end of 2023 and has served as a member of the executive board since its establishment.

During the interview, Duneton emphasized that Unitaid seeks to expand its cooperation with South Korea, as the country’s top-notch competitiveness in the production of biosimilar products can help advance its vision of ensuring affordable and accessible treatments for countries in need.

“Korea is the best place because there isn’t much capacity elsewhere,” Duneton said. “If you want to think about how to simplify processes, increase volume and decrease prices, that’s why we are here.”

Duneton also highlighted South Korea’s leadership in diagnostics and rapid test kits, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Korea is a big supporter specifically in the work that we are doing at Unitaid. What we try to do is to have simple products, more easy to take, and more easy to use for people,” Duneton said, noting that South Korea can help in supplying easy-to-use test kits globally.

Addressing potential cooperation with North Korea in tackling diseases, Duneton said, “It is not an easy time,” but noted that Unitaid does not “ask passports” in its mission to provide accessible health care treatments to those in need.

“Unitaid has previously supported two projects in North Korea, focusing on pediatric tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis, and is open to future collaboration in partnership with the Republic of Korea stakeholders,” he said.

“Unitaid is committed to health equity across the Korean Peninsula and supports efforts to improve health outcomes in DPRK when possible,” he added. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

–IANS

na/