TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The medical equipment donation program led by the Ministry of Health and Welfare has provided over 7,000 medical items to 39 countries, highlighting Taiwan’s global medical assistance.
The program, launched more than 20 years ago, is run by the National Taiwan University Hospital Biomedical Engineering Department, per CNA. It is one of the government’s key foreign aid initiatives, the ministry said.
The department collects decommissioned but still usable medical equipment from domestic healthcare institutions, including ear thermometers, microscopes, ultrasound systems, X-ray machines, and ambulances. After being refurbished by the hospital’s technicians, the equipment is donated to countries in need.
The hospital donated a used ambulance to Mongolia in 2024, with international shipping sponsored by the Taiwan Rotary Clubs Association. On Wednesday, Tumurbaatar Gankhuyag from the Ulaanbaatar Trade and Economic Representative Office in Taipei visited the hospital and thanked Taiwan for its long-standing support of Mongolia’s medical development. He said the ambulance has improved medical rescue services in the nation's remote areas.
In April 2025, the program donated a surgical cautery device to Belau National Hospital in Palau. In the same month, it also partnered with Changhua Christian Hospital to send a container of medical supplies to hospitals in Papua New Guinea.
NTUH Superintendent Yu Chong-jen (余忠仁) said the hospital has also donated anesthesia machines to Ukraine, dialysis machines to Eswatini, and more than 100 medical devices to Kenya. The hospital carries out about six international medical equipment donations annually.
The hospital has compiled a list of medical equipment available for donation by Taiwan’s healthcare institutions. It added that countries in need can submit requests through Taiwan’s embassies, representative offices, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
