Johannesburg: South Korea has pledged to contribute US$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 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.

According to 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. The commitment reflects South Korea's ongoing support for global health initiatives and its intention to play a more active role in combating infectious diseases worldwide. The pledge is expected to bolster efforts to eradicate these diseases and improve global health outcomes.