TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan wants to contribute to global health, Guam representative Paul Yin-Lien Chen (陳盈連) said in an opinion article published on Thursday (May 4).
“Taiwan is willing and able to share its experience in creating a cross-sectional, innovative, and people-centered health approach to help the international community work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to health and well-being,” Chen said in the Pacific Island Times. He pointed out that Taiwan is committed to providing universal health coverage for its people and has improved its health care and public health system according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
Chen said Taiwan effectively mitigated the spread of COVID during the height of the pandemic by utilizing its “comprehensive public healthcare system, well-trained healthcare workers, and epidemiological surveillance, investigation, and analysis systems.” Taiwan's pandemic prevention model included advanced deployment and rapid response mechanisms, border control policies, coordinated distribution of medical resources, and a patient transfer system, he added.
Despite all its accomplishments in healthcare, Taiwan has been excluded from the World Health Assembly since 2017, following the election of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Chen said. This has prevented the nation from receiving help from the WHO and contributing to global health efforts.
Efforts to combat the pandemic should not exclude anyone, especially Taiwan and its 23 million people, he said. The representative added that Taiwan previously participated in WHA meetings as an observer and “provided valuable expertise that informed the WHA's discussions.”
The 76th WHA will take place from May 21-30 in Geneva, Switzerland. Taiwan Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) will lead a delegation to the global health conference, which will include National Health Insurance Administration Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞).
