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Taiwan told to try new WHO strategy

Taiwan has to change its strategy if it wants to achieve President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) ambition to enter the World Health Organization (WHO) within two years, World Medical Association (WMA) Secre-tary General Delon Human said yesterday.

The WMA, which directly or indirectly represents between 7 million and 8 million of the world's 9 million physicians, is a strategic partner of the WHO and has helped the UN body to launch various global programs, including the Tobacco Control Project and the Safe Injection Global Network.

Human, who met Chen on Tuesday, told reporters he does not think the president's aim to bring the nation into the WHO within two years is achievable "if Taiwan only does what it is doing at the moment."

Praising efforts by the government's team fighting for Taiwan's annual WHO bid in Geneva, where the headquarters of the health body is located, as "world class," Human nevertheless suggested that the government organize an international team to help boost the nation's chances of joining the WHO.

"I only have compliments and congratulations for team Taiwan. They have been in a very difficult situation in Geneva. It's a battle, an uphill struggle ... I think your governmental team has done an extraordinary job," he said.

"But if you do only that for the next two years, I am sure you won't achieve success, so I suggested to the president you should consider an international team as well," Human said.

Members of the international team should be "foreigners who believe in Taiwan and its right to access to the WHO." They could be health professionals, well-known personalities and social leaders, Human said.

"People who understand the life of Taiwan should be brought together into one coordinated team under the guidance of the Taiwan government. They should be able to play a role worldwide," he said. "If both the internal and external pressure together can be effectively applied, I think there is a better chance."

Human, who witnessed the failure of Taiwan's eighth bid to join the WHO at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva in May, said Chen received his suggestions positively.

Expressing reserved optimism about Taiwan's chances of entering the WHO, Human said that after eight attempts to be included in the health body, there was a shift during this year's meeting of the WHA, the WHO's highest decision-making body.

Twenty-six countries voted for the proposal, which is still well short of the majority, although it represents changing attitudes.

The EU, where Taiwan had concentrated its lobbying, voted no, but nonetheless offered a long explanation that it is important to help Taiwan.

"From our point of view, this shows their conscience has been touched," Human said, adding that the WMA's members in Germany, the US and Belgium have been supportive of Taiwan being represented in the WHO.

Human said he would call on different international organizations such as the WHO and the World Bank to carefully examine Taiwan's situation and to determine whether they are legally justified in excluding Taiwan, given that the country is already a member of the World Trade Organization.

Meanwhile, according to Human, Taiwan's two leading medical societies, the Chinese Medical Association Taipei (CMAT) and the Taiwan Medical Association (TMA), are planning to merge and participate in the WMA using the name of the latter, as Chen has requested.

"CMAT will withdraw and the TMA will apply. There should be no problem ... As a global body we like to [keep] things quite simple and clear," Human said.

The TMA's application will be discussed at the WMA's assembly in Japan, he said.

"Our privilege as physicians is that we want to make sure that every individual patient has access to the best possible standard of health care. We are much less concerned about all the political ramifications of the `one China' policy. For us it is about health," he said.
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