Improving Health through the Air-ticket Solidarity Levy

Around 1,900 children are infected each day with HIV/AIDS, meaning one child dies from the disease every 45 seconds. Furthermore, 20% of all children in Africa who contract malaria do not survive even though the disease is by and large easy to treat. As a result of issues such as this, the Declaration on Innovative Sources of Financing for Development in 2005 confirmed the commitment of the international community to identify innovative financing for development in order to address enduring development challenges such as those mentioned above.  

In order to assist in the fight against disease, Korea has recently instituted the Air Ticket Solidarity Levy. Introduced on September 30, 2007, the levy is the first of its kind in Asia and imposes a contribution of 1000 Korean won (approx. 1 USD) for each passenger departing from Korea. It is expected to raise annual revenue of around 20 million USD for Korea¡¯s ODA. Responsible for managing and operating the levy, KOICA will use this fund for various disease eradication and control initiatives, including contributions to the UNITAID (an international drug purchase facility), mainly in the African region. With this levy as a start, KOICA will continue to ensure sustained and effective financing for Korea¡¯s development activities.