The representatives of nine local hospitals were awarded the Friend of Foreign Service Medal for advancing Taiwan’s medical diplomacy by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Joseph Wu May 4 in Taipei City.
These institutions are making an invaluable contribution in improving the well-being of people throughout the Pacific, Wu said during the presentation ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They demonstrate without question that Taiwan can help in ensuring health for all, he added.
The awarded facilities for diplomatic allies are Kaohsiung City-based Chung Shan Medical University Hospital in southern Taiwan for Tuvalu and Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital for Solomon Islands; New Taipei City’s Mackay Memorial Hospital for Kiribati and Taipei Medical University Shuang-Ho Hospital for Marshall Islands; Taichung Veterans General Hospital in the central Taiwan metropolis for Nauru; and Taipei City’s Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital for Palau and Taiwan Adventist Hospital for Palau and Solomon Islands.
In addition, Changhua Christian Hospital in the central Taiwan county was recognized for Papua New Guinea and Taipei’s Cathay General Hospital for Fiji.
According to the MOFA, all of the institutions are playing a front-line role in conducting medical training sessions, organizing donations of resources and sending medical missions.
An example of how Taiwan’s medical diplomacy is making a real difference abroad was shared by TVGH Superintendent Dr. Hsu Hwei-hen during the event. Nine years ago in Nauru, the life of a newborn hung in the balance until one of the hospital’s doctors saved the day, he said, adding that the boy’s mother was so grateful she named the boy Taiwan.
Wu said such touching stories, as well as related achievements by the country’s public and private sectors, underscore the importance of Taiwan’s participation in the upcoming World Health Assembly and other activities of the World Health Organization.
The government is committed to working with all like-minded nations to reach the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal of good health and well-being for all, he added. (SFC-E)
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