Staged at National Cheng Kung University, the two-day event brings together 190 experts, government officials and health care professionals from 12 countries across the Asia-Pacific. These are Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.
Dr. Kuo Hsu-sung, director-general of co-organizer Centers for Disease Control under the ROC Ministry of Health and Welfare, said the timing of the conference could not be better as Tainan is making impressive progress in bringing a record dengue fever outbreak under control.
“We believe the cross-sector fight to contain the disease in the southern Taiwan metropolis serves as a successful model for our partners throughout the region.”
Highlights of the first day included a seminar on using inherited bacteria to stop mosquitoes from transmitting the virus by professor Scott O’Neill of the Eliminate Dengue Program from Australia. U.S. State University of New York professor Jonathan Schwartz also addressed the role of community engagement in strengthening dengue response.
According to Kuo, in light of the impact exerted by climate change on epidemic control and prevention, every member of the international community must now pull its weight in formulating seamless global responses.
“We have every reason to believe that the cooperative framework established by the conference will assist enormously in this regard,” he said.
This is the second public health meeting conducted under the auspices of the Taiwan-U.S. Global Cooperation and Training Framework. Launched in June, the initiative saw the two sides successfully stage the International Training Course on Molecular Diagnosis for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in August.
The conference wraps up Dec. 8 after its second day at MOHW headquarters in Taipei City. (YHC-JSM)
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