Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) outlined the country’s medical capabilities and emphasized the importance of global cooperation in combating disease in a speech at the 63rd World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva on Tuesday.
During the five-minute speech, which he delivered in English, Yaung said Taiwan was more than willing to share its experience in promoting public health and strengthening epidemic prevention.
Taiwan is participating at the annual meeting of the WHO’s decision-making body for the second year in a row as an observer under the name “Chinese Taipei,” after years of bids to join as a sovereign country were foiled by China.
In those bids, it consistently stressed the importance of having access to the WHO in combating epidemics. Yaung thanked WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍) and her staff for allowing Taiwan’s participation and helping it fight the A(H1N1) epidemic.
“Last year, Chinese Taipei’s participation in the WHA and incorporation into the International Health Regulations [IHR] framework enabled us to obtain guidance from the WHO directly and to take more effective actions in handling the pandemic H1N1 influenza,” Yaung said.
He also said Taiwan’s presence in the WHO strengthens the global health network, citing Taiwan’s quick response to the earthquake that devastated Haiti earlier this year.
Taiwan’s search-and-rescue and medical teams were among the first to arrive on scene, Yaung said, and Taiwan has committed itself to long-term reconstruction efforts in the Caribbean country, such as rebuilding its public health, medical care and disease prevention system.
“These facts illustrate that our participation in the WHO not only helps strengthen the global network for epidemic prevention, but also allows more countries to benefit from Taiwan’s advanced medical capabilities,” he said.
Yaung also emphasized that Taiwan has been striving to pursue the health-related targets outlined in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.
Aside from making major progress in areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention and the eradication of malaria and other infectious diseases, Taiwan has built a “comprehensive medical system and implemented well-designed public health plans related to women, children and vaccination,” he said.
Yang was the last representative to speak.
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