Taiwan has again this year not been invited to the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), but it intends to have a presence on the sidelines of the event in Geneva, Switzerland, including promoting the nation’s achievements in public health and healthcare.
The International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), a government-funded agency that runs foreign-aid programs, is on Wednesday next week to make a presentation in Geneva on Taiwan’s public health-related cooperation projects, ICDF Deputy Secretary-General Lee Pai-po (李柏浡) said on Friday.
The WHA is being held from Monday to Saturday next week.
At the planned event, ICDF is to present how it helped two allies, Belize and Saint Kitts and Nevis, establish basic facilities to prevent and control chronic kidney disease, which people in those nations are prone to, Lee said.
The agency helped train local healthcare personnel and promoted measures for kidney disease prevention with assistance from Taiwanese hospitals, with the goal of lowering the disease’s prevalence in those nations, Lee said.
ICDF is also assisting Paraguay, another of Taiwan’s 19 diplomatic allies, to improve its management of medical data and overall medical services, he added.
Lee said that Taiwan would invite health officials from allies and nations friendly to Taiwan to the presentation, which he hopes would let the world know about Taiwan’s capabilities in promoting public health and preventing chronic diseases.
Taiwan is eager to share with other nations its expertise and know-how in the establishment of medical data systems because of its competitiveness in that field, Lee said.
The publicity blitz is part of Taiwan’s ongoing campaign to secure the support of the international community to help it overcome China’s obstruction and to participate in the WHA.
Since 1997, Taiwan has made efforts to join the WHO, but without success. From 2009 to 2016, when relations with China were better, it was invited to attend the WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, as an observer.
However, Beijing has taken a hardline stance toward Taiwan since the Democratic Progressive Party took power in May 2016, cutting official ties and blocking Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
Last year, the WHO, under pressure from China, withheld an invitation for Taiwan to participate in the 70th WHA. This year, Taiwan was kept out of the assembly for the second year in a row due to China’s obstruction.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
RSS