Such as MERS, Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19, Global health problem of one country is not a mere national problem, but a serious international problem, which can threaten people all over the world. Notably, in developing countries, where public health systems for prevention and treatment of diseases, or sanitary systems are not appropriately equipped, the damage from them is worse. War and terror, as well as infectious diseases, make people die and injured. Timely care hardly occurs because of the destruction of infrastructure. Recently, global health face bigger and bigger dangers because of climate change from environmental pollution, which makes the globe warmer and heat, cold or typhoon severer.

Korea has developed rapidly socioeconomically and succeeded in to be one of the developed countries. However right after Korean War, Korea was one of the poorest countries all over the world. According to the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the amount of money Korea had received from international society from 1945 to 1999 was about 13 billion dollars. Without humanitarian assistance from the global community, especially without 492 million dollars for health and medical support, hundreds of thousands of people would have died from diseases and wounds. With these experiences in mind, Korea is providing health and medical assistance to many developing countries all over the world. Institute for Development and Human Security is also providing supports with researches and policy proposals.

With the development of medical technology, treatment for numerous diseases is possible. Fundamental resolutions, however, for climate change, environmental pollution, war, and terror, are still needed. It’s time for Korea to act to lead the public and medical care sector.