The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) said that the Swedish International Cooperation Agency (Sida) will continue to support IVI’s efforts to step up the research and development of vaccines for global health.

As part of its support, Sida will contribute 50 million Swedish krona ($5.24 million) over the next five years.

“We’re proud to have Sweden’s long-term support and partnership,” IVI Director General Jerome Kim said. “Unrestricted support from Sida enables IVI to implement strategic imperatives and pursue independent research and innovation. We are very grateful for the latitude to advance our scientific portfolio and core activities.”

The partnership between IVI and Sweden has allowed IVI to make significant accomplishments in the past, including the development and delivery of the world’s first affordable oral cholera vaccine, Kim added.

Kim stressed that the IVI is looking forward to further collaboration with Sida in achieving global objectives.

Sweden was one of the first countries to sign the IVI Establishment Agreement in 1997 and started to fund IVI in 2002 through Sida.

Since IVI’s first research collaboration with the University of Gothenburg and Swedish Biological Laboratories in 2000, Sweden also has played a vital role in developing Shanchol, Euvichol and Euvichol Plus, all oral cholera vaccine (OCV) developed by IVI. More than 42 million doses of these low-cost OCVs have been supplied worldwide, according to the global vaccine organization headquartered in Seoul.

In addition to funding for IVI operations, Sida has provided project funding for IVI’s priority disease areas, including cholera, dengue, and typhoid.

“These funds have supported a range of epidemiology and vaccine programs, including generating evidence on disease burden across developing Asian and African countries, accelerating the development and introduction of affordable dengue, oral cholera, and typhoid vaccines across Asia and South America,” the vaccine organization said in a press release. “It has also helped increase the capacity to implement immunization programs in Central Asia.”

Teresa Soop, a senior research advisor at Sida, also said, “IVI’s contribution to global health is invaluable considering both the technical support provided to low- and middle-income countries and the focus on diseases disproportionally affecting people living in poverty.”

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