IGEE at Yonsei University

Yonsei Medical Center and National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital have joined together to help cancer patients in need economically. Three hundred thirty-five full-time fellows at Yonsei Medical Center and Ilsan Hospital collected 8 million KRW in donations to help patients who cannot pay for the non-paid anticancer treatment due to the no coverage of health insurance. The purpose of the donation was that the fellows wanted to use this money for patients who choose existing anticancer drugs without any options due to the burden of non-paid anticancer medicines and who are overwhelmed by high treatment costs. Yonsei Medical Center fellows try to provide the best treatment for patients with great responsibility and ensure that all patients have equal rights to economic resources. This aims to help the poor and the vulnerable have equal rights to resources, such as medical treatments (SDG 1.4).

Yonsei University Wonju Enterprise Support Foundation temporarily reduced rent fees to provide a smooth business environment for tenants facing difficulties incorporating activities due to the recent prolonged COVID situation.Yonsei University Mirae Campus Wonju Enterprise Support Foundation has been striving to support start-ups in the region over the past 20 years and currently has 33 companies. 60% of the tenant companies are early companies with less than three years of foundation and are striving to grow sales by securing sales channels, but they are experiencing a crisis in the aftermath of COVID-19. The SDG 1.5 is related to building the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reducing their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social, and environmental shocks and disasters.

The total amount of donations affirmed by Yonsei Medical Center exceeded 30 billion KRW last year. The annual donation raised by domestic medical centers is the highest ever, adding meaning to about three-quarters of all donors with small donors of less than 1 million KRW.Of the 6,468 donations, small donors of less than 1 million KRW accounted for 76%, showing the true value of small donations that are small but helpful.It was also significant that nearly half of the donations were collected with the sincerity of individuals and patients. According to the medical center, donations from individuals and patients, not organizations or companies, to hospitals last year amounted to 14.45 billion KRW. There are 1,411 individuals and patients who participated in the donation.Patients who received this money are known to thank the donors and engage in various activities to end poverty. This can be said to be an effort to eradicate the absolute poor population in connection with SDG 1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.