Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan arrived in Geneva May 17 to reiterate Taiwan’s commitment to joining the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the minister and his delegation attended a breakfast meeting with a group from the World Medical Association the following day. The two sides held a joint news conference later the same day to underscore the importance of Taiwan’s WHA inclusion.
WMA President Ashok Philip said excluding Taiwan will greatly impact the integrity of the global database of public health information, while Secretary General Otmar Kloiber called Taiwan a global model for universal health coverage and said the WMA would continue its 20-year history of support for Taiwan.
Prior to Chiu’s departure, he held an event with Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung May 16 in Taipei City to call on the WHO to not give in to political interference and to invite Taiwan to the technical meetings of the WHO and WHA in line with the upcoming 78th WHA’s theme of “One World for Health.”
Lin said as diseases know no borders, health promotion is a universal task. He added that excluding Taiwan would be a great loss to the global community, especially given the country’s resilience in pandemic prevention and commitment to helping others.
The minister also expressed gratitude to allies and like-minded partners for initiating legislation and joint letters to support Taiwan’s WHA participation. One such letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, published May 16 by the Formosa Club, called Taiwan’s continued exclusion not only unjust but also contradictory to the organization’s mission, and exhorted the WHO to make full use of Taiwan’s experience to promote global health. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw