South Korea's Foreign Ministry says it has pledged five million dollars in aid to help fight major infectious diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. 

The agreement was signed with the international financing agency, the Global Fund, in Geneva on Wednesday.

The Seoul government has provided the Global Fund with 12 and a half million dollars, including the latest five million dollars, since 2017.

South Korea plans to double the amount between 2020 and 2022.

The Global Fund was set up in 2002 to support financing for the prevention and treatment of epidemics. South Korea has been a member of its board since 2018.