The National Health Research Institute yesterday published a white paper on child medicine and health policies, calling on the government to tackle four major issues.
The 700-page white paper outlines policies that the government should address by 2030, and compiles suggestions from more than 200 child health specialists, government officials and non-governmental organizations, the institute’s Child Health Research Center said.
In its last section, the document urges the government to first take measures to reduce child and adolescent mortality rates, lower the child obesity rate, reduce electronic device addiction and substance abuse, and establish an integrated child medicine and health system.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The infant mortality rate in Taiwan is about 4.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, which would rank the nation 27th in the 35-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Institute of Population Sciences director Hsiung Chao (熊昭) said, adding that there is room for improvement.
The rate of newborns with low birth weight — below 2.5kg — increased from 7.6 percent in 2007 to 9 percent in 2015, also placing the nation in the bottom third among OECD members, the paper said.
The child obesity rate in Taiwan was 25.9 percent for boys and 17.4 percent for girls in 2013, and the rates have been increasing, it said.
Electronic device addiction and substance abuse are also among the problems that children and adolescents face, and should be urgently dealt with, the white paper said.
The WHO has recognized the serious and growing problem of digital addiction, classifying video game addiction as a disorder, Hsiung said.
An institute survey of 8,110 students from 169 schools nationwide suggested that the prevalence of video game addiction in children and adolescents (aged 10 to 18) is about 3.1 percent, Hsiung added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said the ministry recognizes the suggestions made in the white paper, and would make more efforts to protect children’s rights and promote proper parenting education.
It would also protect children’s lives by amending and enforcing the law, and by implementing intervention measures, Chen said.
The ministry would also improve the child medicine and health system, Chen added.
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