Choo Kyung-ho "WB to Establish Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) This Fall, Reviewing South Korea's Contribution Method"

Published 22 Jun.2022 16:00(KST)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The World Bank (WB) proposed a plan to establish a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) by this fall, and the Group of Twenty (G20) agreed that the FIF is the most suitable means to expand health financing.

On the 21st, the '2022 1st G20 Finance and Health Ministers Meeting,' held in a hybrid format of in-person and video, was attended via video by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho.

This meeting was held to discuss the global health financing supplement and the finance-health coordination platform for global health financing coordination, as agreed at last year's Rome Summit. Finance and health ministers from the G20 and invited countries, as well as heads of major international organizations such as the WB, World Health Organization (WHO), and International Monetary Fund (IMF), participated.

The WB announced a plan to establish the FIF within the World Bank for pandemic response by this fall. The fund will be raised through voluntary contributions from countries and private organizations, and the collected funds will be used to support pandemic response projects by the WHO, UN agencies, WB, and others. The fund will have its own board of directors to decide on fund management and supervision, while the WB will act as the trustee responsible for cash management and related tasks.

Most member countries agreed on the necessity to expand health financing and that the FIF is the most appropriate means. Additionally, opinions were expressed that the WHO's role is important in FIF discussions, the FIF decision-making system must ensure inclusiveness and efficiency, and the relationship between the G20 and FIF needs to be more clearly defined.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated that, given concerns about the recurrence of pandemics, he supports the prompt establishment and operation of the FIF and will review appropriate contribution methods. He emphasized that the WHO's expertise should be fully utilized in FIF operations, that beneficiary countries' participation in the board should be guaranteed, and that voting rights should be centered on contributing countries.

The WHO has prepared a plan to establish a finance-health coordination platform to support pandemic preparedness and response (PPR). This platform will be responsible for pandemic risk and global pandemic response financing monitoring, and it is planned to be formed by expanding the participating countries and regions based on the current G20 finance-health task force (TF).

Member countries advised that the relationship with the G20 should be clarified, criteria for participation of countries outside the G20 should be established, and attention should be paid to potential decision-making delays due to the expansion of participating countries.

An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance said, "As the establishment of the FIF is expected to accelerate, we will continuously monitor the WB board and other FIF discussion trends and major countries' positions to seek our response direction," adding, "Regarding discussions on the finance-health coordination platform, we will closely consult with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the related ministry, to prepare our position and respond from the perspective of national interest."