Taiwan's request for WHO participation

(Last of three parts)

The decision of World Health Organization (WHO) to grant observer-ship status to Taiwan is favorable to the promotion of human health and welfare. This way, Taiwan’s many works and achievements in healthcare and disease prevention can help the international community.

Although unable to join international medical projects organized and led by the WHO, Taiwan has actively helped other countries upgrade their healthcare standards through a variety of measures. It has set up Taiwan Health Centers in the Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands, and dispatched medical missions to countries such as Sao Tome and Principe and Burkina Faso. It has also engaged in medical cooperation with Belize, El Salvador, Kenya and other countries by providing medical training. It has also dispatched medical teams to Ecuador, Myanmar, Haiti, Guatemala, Fiji, Marshall Islands and Kenya to assist in relief efforts and provide medical services to people in need. In recent years, rescue teams from Taiwan have been sent to help regions devastated by natural disasters, including South Asia for the tsunami in 2004, Indonesia for the earthquake in 2005, Peru for the earthquake of 2007 and Sichuan of mainland China for the earthquake of 2008.

WHO has an ally in Taiwan as its activities are all in line with WHO’s current focuses, mainly the prevention of the spread of the avian influenza, malaria and AIDS. It has donated 600,000 Tamiflu capsules to Vietnam and sent experts to affected countries to prevent the spread of the virus. It helped Sao Tome and Principe improve its malaria reporting system, create a malaria diagnostic laboratory, conduct comprehensive screening tests and fumigation of high risk communities. These efforts also assisted in Malawi’s fight against AIDS by designing a fingerprint identification system for HIV-positive patients to make records more accurate and updated and to control the storage and distribution of medicines. Taiwan also helped Swaziland heighten its AIDS prevention and treatment capabilities.

WHO sounded the alarm on SARS and avian influenza and new diseases which are emerging at unprecedented rates, proof that the world is engaged in an uphill battle to keep pace with mutating viruses. Moreover, globalization and technological advancements may further impact the health of human beings through several factors such as climate change, the spread of unhealthy lifestyles and easy movement of people and commodities. As the WHO is the most influential forum that handles healthcare issues confronting the international community, and is dedicated to the goal of “Health For All”, it must welcome all efforts to contribute towards reaching these goals and for this matter, not deprive Taiwan, who wants to contribute its share in worldwide efforts, of the right to participate.

Granting Taiwan WHA observer status is clearly advantageous for the WHO, the members of the international community and Taiwan itself. If everyone is concerned with health and security for themselves and the generations to come, their unbridled cooperation and oneness of mind to achieve the goal is essential. Therefore, the government of Taiwan calls on the world to support Taiwan’s observer status in the WHA, thereby better safeguarding the health security of all mankind.