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The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a special international group that works to make vaccines available to everyone. It's a non-profit organization, which means it doesn't aim to make money. IVI works with scientists, health groups, governments, and companies around the world. Their main goal is to find, create, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines. They focus on designing new vaccines in labs, testing them in real-world situations, and making sure they reach places where they are needed most.

IVI started as an idea from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In 1997, it became its own independent international organization. Its main office is in Seoul, South Korea. Currently, 39 countries are members of IVI, and the World Health Organization (WHO) also supports it. IVI's special mission is to focus only on vaccine research and delivery for people in developing countries. They especially target diseases that cause serious health problems in these areas.

Quick facts for kids
International Vaccine Institute
International Vaccine Institute logo.svg
Abbreviation IVI
Formation October 9, 1997
Founder United Nations Development Programme
Type International organization
Purpose Discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global public health.
Headquarters Seoul, Republic of Korea
Membership
 39 member states and the World Health Organization
Director General
 Jerome Kim, M.D.
Budget
 US$27 million(2017)
Staff
 210

How IVI Started

Early Ideas

In 1992, a health advisor named Dr. Seung-Il Shin from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) started looking into whether an international vaccine institute could be created. This idea was part of a bigger plan called the Children's Vaccine Initiative.

Based on Dr. Shin's study, the UNDP officially proposed creating the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in 1993. In 1994, South Korea and the UNDP agreed that Seoul would be the home for IVI. An early IVI office opened at Seoul National University in 1995, and the organization began its first work.

Establishment Agreement Signing
Signing of the IVI Establishment Agreement

Becoming an Independent Organization

From 1995 to 1996, the UNDP and the South Korean government worked together to create IVI's basic rules. To make IVI an independent international group, they decided to set it up through an agreement between different countries.

On October 28, 1996, countries started signing the IVI Establishment Agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The first countries to sign included Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Panama, South Korea, Romania, Thailand, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and the World Health Organization. Soon after, Senegal and the Philippines also signed.

In 1997, more countries joined, such as Brazil, China, Egypt, Israel, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan, and Turkey.

The IVI Establishment Agreement officially began on May 29, 1997, after South Korea, Sweden, and Uzbekistan formally approved it. This agreement was then added to the United Nations list of treaties.

On September 24, 1998, the IVI Headquarters Agreement was signed. This agreement made IVI a legal organization with special diplomatic rights in South Korea. It was the first international organization to have its main office in South Korea. IVI officially became separate from the UNDP in 1998.

IVI Building (1)
IVI Headquarters

IVI's Main Building

The IVI headquarters building is located in Seoul National University's Research Park in Seoul, South Korea. Its construction started in 1998 and finished in 2003. The building has laboratories, animal facilities, offices, an auditorium, and a library. There was also a plan for a separate facility to produce small batches of vaccines for testing and training, but it was never completed due to a lack of money.

What IVI Does

Fighting Diseases of the Poorest (DOMI)

IVI's first big project, called "Diseases of the Most Impoverished" (DOMI), ran from 2000 to 2006. This program aimed to quickly introduce new vaccines for typhoid fever, cholera, and shigellosis in developing countries.

The DOMI program conducted vaccination campaigns, tracked diseases, and did research in countries like Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. At the end of the program, IVI gathered all the information to help leaders in these countries decide how to use vaccines against these diseases. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided most of the funding for DOMI.

DOMI Typhoid Project

The DOMI Typhoid project worked to make typhoid vaccines more available in developing countries. It used a specific type of vaccine called Vi-Polysaccharide (Vi-PS) because it's easy and cheap to make, only needs one dose, and stays stable in different temperatures.

IVI experts worked in five places: Heichi (China), Kolkata (India), North Jakarta (Indonesia), Karachi (Pakistan), and Hue (Vietnam). They tracked the disease, studied how much it cost people, and looked at social behaviors. They also ran vaccine demonstration projects. The information gathered helped leaders in Pakistan, Indonesia, and Vietnam start pilot school-based typhoid vaccination programs. In China, the project found a new increase in paratyphoid A infections, which led IVI to start a new project there.

DOMI Cholera Project

The DOMI Cholera project aimed to create and use an affordable cholera vaccine in countries where cholera was common. This project worked in five locations: Matlab (Bangladesh), North Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (India), Beira (Mozambique), and Hue (Vietnam).

IVI studied how common cholera was, its economic impact, and people's behaviors. They also ran cholera vaccination campaigns. The studies showed a high need for the cholera vaccine, especially among children under five. In Beira, over 44,000 children and adults received the Dukoral vaccine. In Kolkata, IVI vaccinated more than 67,000 people with an oral cholera vaccine made in Vietnam.

At the start of the DOMI Cholera project, the only internationally approved cholera vaccine was Dukoral, but it was too expensive for many poor countries. A Vietnamese cholera vaccine, developed with help from Sweden, looked promising as a low-cost option. Because of this, the Gates Foundation gave IVI more money to start the Cholera Vaccine Initiative (CVI). The goal was to improve the Vietnamese vaccine for international use.

DOMI Shigellosis Project

The DOMI Shigellosis program aimed to speed up the creation of a safe shigella vaccine to control outbreaks and ongoing disease. From 2000 to 2004, the program tracked shigella in six places across Southeast Asia: Dhaka (Bangladesh), Hebei (China), Karachi (Pakistan), North Jakarta (Indonesia), Nha Trang (Vietnam), and Saraburi Province (Thailand).

This program helped scientists understand what a good shigella vaccine needs to do. It also showed how common the disease was in these countries. An early oral shigella vaccine tested in Bangladesh didn't work well. The high number of cases and different types of shigella found showed the need for a vaccine that protects against all common types. So, IVI's lab scientists started a project to study the Shigella genetic code. They wanted to find common parts in different Shigella types that could be used to make a vaccine against all of them.

Rotavirus Diarrhea Program

The Rotavirus Diarrhea Program, from 1999 to 2010, helped leaders in developing countries get the information they needed to include rotavirus vaccines in their national vaccination plans. The program tracked the disease and studied its economic impact in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

In 2007, IVI worked with Vietnam's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) to test GSK's RotaRix rotavirus vaccine in Vietnam. In 2009, IVI, NIHE, PATH, and Merck completed a larger test of Merck's RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine in Vietnam, vaccinating 900 babies.

Dengue Vaccine Programs

Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI)

The Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI) was a partnership started by IVI to speed up the introduction of safe and effective dengue vaccines for children in countries where dengue is common. From 2002 to 2010, PDVI worked in many countries, including Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

PDVI made important contributions to dengue vaccine development, such as:

  • Creating a global network for dengue vaccine research and development. They worked with groups like Brazil's Butantan Institute and the U.S. National Institute of Health. PDVI gave technical advice for testing their dengue vaccine candidates.
  • Setting up two regional Dengue Prevention Boards in Asia-Pacific and the Americas. These boards shared information and gave advice on controlling dengue through vaccination.
  • Working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create a free, easy-to-use software called DenguEcon. This tool helps leaders understand the economic cost of dengue.

In 2010, PDVI changed its name to the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI).

Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI)

The Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) was a group led by IVI, including the World Health Organization, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and Johns Hopkins University. DVI continued the work of PDVI, focusing on preparing for dengue vaccine decisions and introducing vaccines in affected areas.

Each group in the DVI had a specific role: the World Health Organization provided information and training; Johns Hopkins University focused on vaccine funding; and the Sabin Vaccine Institute handled communication. IVI led the group and gathered information on how common dengue was and how to introduce the vaccine in different countries.

From 2010 to 2016, DVI worked in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Colombia, Gabon, India, Kenya, Thailand, and Vietnam. From 2013 to 2015, with funding from Germany, IVI continued to support early development of dengue vaccines by Brazil's Butantan Institute and Vietnam's VaBiotech. After Sanofi Pasteur's Dengvaxia vaccine was approved in 2016, the DVI project ended. IVI staff then moved to a new project called the Global Dengue & Aedes-Transmitted Disease Consortium (GDAC).

How IVI is Organized

Countries Supporting IVI

As of January 2019, IVI has 35 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) as official supporters. These include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Romania, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the World Health Organization.

IVI's Partners

IVI works with many different groups around the world. These include companies, charities, foundations, governments, and media organizations. Some of their main partners are:

Universities and Research Centers

Global Health Organizations

Global Networks

  • BactiVac Network
  • Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network
  • Global Health Security Agenda
  • Global Health Technologies Coalition
  • Global Task Force on Cholera Control
  • Global Virus Network
  • Joint External Evaluation Alliance
  • Leading International Vaccine Education

Government Agencies

Industry Partners

  • Bio Farma
  • Celltrion
  • Clover Biopharmaceuticals
  • EuBiologics
  • Genexine
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Gyeongbuk Institute for Bio Industry
  • Incepta Pharmaceuticals
  • Inovio Pharmaceuticals
  • Instituto Butantan
  • Merck
  • Pfizer
  • Sanofi
  • Shantha Biotechnics
  • Shift Health
  • SK Bioscience
  • Translational Health Science and Technology Institute
  • Vabiotech

Charitable Organizations

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