Innovative Development Finance for Health Sector Development: Focusing on the Air Ticket Solidarity Levy System in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Financial sustainability has been a perennial problem in international development. Furthermore, among different areas of developmental support, securing sufficient financial resources is particularly significant in the health sector where people’s very lives are at stake. Given the above, we examine innovative development finance (IDF) for the health sector with a particular focus on the air ticket solidarity levy system in the Republic of Korea. After an overview of the origins and the present state of the solidarity tax system, we explain how it was implemented in the context of South Korea’s health ODA (Official Development Assistance). A first-ever health ODA stakeholders’ perception survey with its implications on the airplane tax system follows. For policy suggestions, we suggest incorporating a COVID-19 agenda into the Global Disease Eradication Fund (GDEF) immediately, and to raise public awareness in a timely fashion. We believe the Korean case is significant for both its direct impact in the Eurasian region as an emerging donor, and for its unique position due to its middle-power status whose trajectory could serve as an example to many other nations seeking sustainable financial schemes. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.