The Da-an District of Taipei City was recently acknowledged as a member by a WHO sub-organization which promotes healthy city projects worldwide, the Taipei City health department said yesterday.
The WHO's Alliance for Healthy Cities was founded by the WHO's Regional Office for the Western Pacific in 2003 in response to the issue of urbanization.
It counts 62 members, including 49 cities and 13 NGOs.
The alliance serves as a platform for its members -- cities, municipalities, NGOs, universities, national agencies and private sectors -- to engage in international efforts to "protect and enhance the health of city dwellers" by taking a "Healthy City Approach."
The approach is based on the concept that "the social, economic and physical environment is the key to the health of city dwellers," as stated in the alliance's Web site.
Yu Li-hui (
Yu said that the association exemplifies the concepts of "part-nership" and "residents' participation" highlighted by the alliance, since it is not a government-centered organization.
"The establishment of the association enabled individuals or groups in different fields to share resources, responsibilities and benefits for the same goal -- developing a healthy city," she said.
As a member of the alliance, the association can exchange what it has learned from the district healthy city projects in the alliance's general assembly held every other year, she said.
She added that the association can also compete for the alliance's awards such as the WHO Awards for Healthy Cities.
"Although the alliance may not have influence over the WHA's decisions, our citizens' efforts and participation in public health affairs will be seen by the international community," Yu told the Taipei Times.
She said the city government will continue promoting other districts' applications to become members of the alliance.
"As more of our districts become members, we will be able to voice our opinions in the alliance's general assembly and accentuate different district characteristics," she said.
The association is going to participate in the alliance's second assembly in Suzhou, China next month, she said. This year's theme is "Healthy Cities in a Globalizing World."
The district, however, is not Taiwan's first district member.
The Tainan Healthy City Association was acknowledged by the alliance last year as an NGO member.
The Tainan association initiated its three-year healthy city project in 2003, aiming at "gauging Tainan City residents' expectations of healthy cities," "assessing health problems in Tainan City" and "setting tangible objectives for turning Tainan into a healthy city."
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