The Taiwan Association for Global Health Diplomacy (TAGHD) yesterday said that it has launched a crowdfunding campaign to increase the nation’s visibility ahead of the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, next month.
TAGHD is a non-governmental organization of more than 50 young Taiwanese with professional backgrounds in healthcare, marketing, design, engineering, technology and other fields.
Taiwan in the past two years has not received an invitation to attend the WHA as an observer due to Chinese pressure after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this month said that an invite is also unlikely this year.
The association said that it is inviting medical practitioners to assist them in writing white papers about the nation’s healthcare industry that 15 members are to take to Geneva to promote Taiwan to the world.
TAGHD convener Chiang Kuan-yu (姜冠宇), a physician, said that one of the agendas for this year’s WHA is “primary healthcare,” so the association is to share Taiwan’s experiences in the area and display how it can further contribute to global healthcare.
The members are also to hold an exhibition to showcase the nation’s advanced telemedicine technology, as it could be used to help people in remote areas around the world.
An association member who goes by the pseudonym Yang Hsin-tzu (陽醒慈) said that Taiwan could contribute to the international healthcare community through its National Health Insurance system, training of medical practitioners from other countries and disease prevention programs, among other things.
Taiwan is a “model student” in global healthcare, but it is being isolated by the WHO, she said, adding that as the situation threatens the health of more than 23 million Taiwanese and creates a loophole in the global disease prevention safety net that could put the world at risk.
Taiwan Center for Drug Evaluation researcher Lai Tzu-jung (賴姿蓉) said that African swine fever has spread throughout China, but a Taiwanese biotechnology firm developed a rapid screening kit for the disease and became the first in Asia to be recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health.
Taiwan has shown that it can help achieve the goal of universal healthcare, so the WHO should not neglect it, as Taiwan also needs the WHO, she said.
The association aims to raise NT$500,000 in the first phase, followed by NT$700,000 and NT$900,000 in the second and third phases respectively.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS