Seoul, Aug 27 (IANS): The head of the global coalition meant to combat epidemic diseases said Seoul's contribution plays a critical role in maintaining health initiatives worldwide, according to South Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday.

South Korea contributed $33 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) between 2020 and 2023. This year, South Korea also contributed $18 million to CEPI as part of efforts to strengthen global health initiatives, Yonhap news agency reported.

Seoul's move came at a time when many countries struggle to maintain their contributions to the global coalition due to challenges such as the prolonged war in Ukraine, CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said during a meeting with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul on Monday.

Cho emphasised the importance of CEPI's continued investment in South Korean companies and called for diversified collaboration.

Hatchett said CEPI can continue cooperation with South Korea in various fields, noting that CEPI invested over $410 million in SK Biosciences and other South Korean companies to support their vaccine development.

CEPI, co-founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a global partnership focused on vaccine research and development against infectious diseases, such as Covid-19. The organisation was launched in 2017, and South Korea joined in 2020.

CEPI's council meeting is scheduled to be held in South Korea from Thursday to Friday.

The meeting comes amidst rising cases of Covid cases and hospitalisation.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the number of Covid patients in 220 hospitals last week came to 1,444, up 5.7 per cent from a week earlier.

Although the weekly number of Covid inpatients grew last week, the growth rate of hospitalisation plunged, the agency said.

To prevent the spread of the virus among students, the government has issued guidelines to schools ahead of the new semester, including requiring students to take leave if they exhibit severe Covid symptoms.