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Diplomatic allies urge WHO to include Taiwan in health regulation framework

Three of Taiwan's diplomatic allies have urged the WHO to include Taiwan in the International Health Regulations (IHR), a legal framework for global infectious disease control, an official posted in Geneva said on Tuesday.

The three countries -- El Salvador, Paraguay and Sao Tome and Principe -- are among 34 members of the WHO Executive Board, which will have its 122nd session next week, Taipei Cultural and Economic Office in Geneva Director Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡) said.

Shen said the three allies would make the proposal without directly naming Taiwan by recommending to the Executive Board that the WHO include any countries and areas that are currently excluded from the IHR in order to close gaps in the global epidemic control and health care network.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is seeking support from more countries for the proposal, Shen said.

The IHR was adopted in May 2005 by the World Heath Assembly (WHA), the highest decision-making body of the WHO, and took effect in June last year. It requires all member states to report and address any public health emergencies of international concern.

Taiwan announced its voluntary adherence to IHR regulations in May 2005. However, the WHO, which does not recognize the Taiwanese government, has avoided direct contact with Taiwan and has excluded it from international health networks, Shen said.

He said the WHO had failed to respond and provide assistance in July last year after Taiwanese health authorities reported that a local couple had a dangerous form of tuberculosis and had posed a threat to health overseas by flying to China via Hong Kong.

Moreover, the WHO's International Food Safety Authorities Network did not inform Taiwan about contaminated corn, but rather asked Beijing to inform Taiwan after it learned that a shipment of green corn exported from Thailand in September was not safe.

Taiwanese authorities were not informed until 10 days after China received the alert.

The WHO's Web site also lists Taiwanese ports as Chinese, another indication that it is unwilling to include Taiwan in international health efforts, Shen said.

The proposal to include Taiwan in the IHR is a new bid, Shen said, adding that topics related to the IHR would be covered in the WHA Executive Board's session on Tuesday.
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