The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization founded on the belief that the health of children in developing countries can be dramatically improved by the use of new and improved vaccines. Working in collaboration with the international scientific community, public health organizations, governments, and industry, IVI is involved in all areas of the vaccine spectrum – from new vaccine design in the laboratory to vaccine development and evaluation in the field to facilitating sustainable introduction of vaccines in countries where they are most needed.
Created initially as an initiative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), IVI began formal operations as an independent international organization in 1997 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Currently, IVI has 39 member states (33 signatories and 23 parties) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as signatories to its Establishment Agreement. The institute has a unique mandate to work exclusively on vaccine development and introduction specifically for people in developing countries, with a focus on neglected diseases affecting these regions.
History
Background
In 1992, Dr. Seung-Il Shin, then Senior Health Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), initiated a study to explore the feasibility of establishing an international institute devoted to vaccine research and development within the framework of the Children's Vaccine Initiative (CVI).
Based on the results of Shin's feasibility study, in 1993 the UNDP adopted a formal proposal to establish the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). In 1994, following a call for proposals to host IVI in the Asia Pacific region, the UNDP and the Republic of Korea reached an agreement to host the center in Seoul. In 1995, UNDP opened an interim IVI office on the campus of Seoul National University and the Institute began its initial work and organizational development.
Foundation
In 1995 and 1996, the UNDP and the South Korean government jointly developed the basic framework and Constitution of IVI. In order to establish IVI as an independent international organization, the UNDP and Korean government elected to establish the institute through an intergovernmental agreement of UN member states, as sanctioned in the Vienna Convention on the Laws of Treaties of 1969.
On October 28, 1996, the IVI Establishment Agreement opened for signatures at the UN headquarters in New York City. Representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Panama, Republic of Korea, Romania, Thailand, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and the WHO were the first to sign the agreement, followed shortly thereafter by Senegal and Philippines.
In 1997 more countries followed, with Brazil, China, Egypt, Israel, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan, and Turkey signing the Agreement.
On May 29, 1997, The IVI Establishment Agreement entered into force following the submission of instruments of ratification by South Korea, Sweden, and Uzbekistan. The IVI Establishment Agreement entered the United Nations Depository of Treaties under Chapter IX. HEALTH, section 3.
On September 24, 1998, the IVI Headquarters Agreement was signed at a formal ceremony at UNDP headquarters by South Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hon. Hong Soon-Young and IVI Board Chairman, Dr. Barry Bloom. The Headquarters Agreement established IVI as a legal entity with diplomatic immunity in South Korea, becoming the first international organization to be headquartered in South Korea. In accordance with IVI's independent status, the Institute formally separated from the UNDP in 1998.
Headquarters building
The IVI headquarters building, located in Seoul National University's Research Park in Seoul, South Korea, was designed by a consortium consisting of Samwoo Architects of South Korea and Payette Associates of Boston, US. Construction began in 1998 and was completed in 2003. The building houses laboratories, animal facilities, offices, an auditorium, and a library. A separate 1,300m² pilot plant facility, intended for the production of test lots of vaccines for training and evaluation purposes, was constructed but never completed due to a lack of funding.