By OSCAR CHUNG

The Taiwan Health Center in the Marshall Islands provides regular check-ups for early detection of chronic disease in local residents. (Photo courtesy of Ministry Of Health and Welfare)

Taiwan merits official inclusion in global health affairs.

Human rights are near and dear to the civic-minded people of Taiwan, and assisting those in need around the world is a natural extension of their national ethos. One of the many entities embodying this Taiwan Can Help spirit is the Taiwan Nurses Association (TWNA), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) promoting nursing education and research at home and abroad to ensure quality care for all. To advance this goal, TWNA is a member of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and recently inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with fellow ICN member National Nurses Association of Paraguay. The agreement was the latest in a series of pacts signed with counterparts in Argentina, Mexico, Mongolia, Saint Lucia and the Philippines since last year.

Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (Photo by Chin Hung-hao)

TWNA organizes local workshops for ICN’s Leadership for Change (LFC) program, which aims to empower nursing personnel to drive organizational change and improve health outcomes. Its upcoming event in July will cultivate attendees’ leadership and communication skills and guide them in designing projects to address their countries’ important issues. A follow-up session next year will offer further advice on continued implementation. TWNA has held four sets of training workshops since 2015, leveling up the capabilities of 87 local and visiting professionals. Upon returning home, overseas participants become seed teachers who pass on the knowledge they acquired to nurses in their respective countries.

“Taiwan has accumulated invaluable experience in health care, and we’re eager to share our best practices with the world,” said TWNA President Chen Ching-min (陳靜敏). “Our association seizes every opportunity to raise the profile of the country’s exceptional health services on the world stage.” With its internationally recognized health care system, robust medical research sector and can-do attitude, Taiwan is committed to helping members of the international community attain the highest possible standard of health.

Coordinated Action

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) is pivotal to the country’s mission to enhance global health care. Among its biggest triumphs is the Taiwan International Health Action (TaiwanIHA) project established in 2006. Jointly run by the MOHW and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the initiative aims to provide training and aid where it is needed most through projects like the Taiwan International Healthcare Training Center in New Taipei City, which has provided professional development in clinical medicine, emergency services, health care management and traditional Chinese medicine for visiting medical personnel since 2002. More than 2,000 health ­workers from 77 countries have benefited to date.

TaiwanIHA particularly targets the Pacific, where it offers health services in six nations. Through the Taiwan Health Center operated by the MOHW’s Shuang Ho Hospital in the Marshall Islands, for example, locals have been receiving regular diabetes screenings since 2015 to help combat one of the country’s biggest health threats. The center also worked with the Marshall Islands government to address the root cause by developing teaching materials promoting healthy diets among schoolchildren. Shuang Ho additionally offers internships to Marshallese medical graduates who complete their studies in Taiwan. More than 10 such young professionals have interned at the hospital to learn advanced medical techniques before returning home.

Similarly, Taiwan shares its know-how in South and Southeast Asia via the MOHW’s “One Country, One Center” project launched in 2018. Under the initiative, 10 Taiwan medical centers are training personnel from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines while enhancing cooperation with counterparts in those regions. Despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 393 medical professionals received virtual or in-person training under the program in 2022.

An Indian dermatologist, center, gives the thumbs up alongside local medical professionals during his yearlong training at Taiwan International Healthcare Training Center in New Taipei City. (Photo courtesy of MOHW)

Shared Resources

Another way the MOHW boosts global health care is by sponsoring NGO ­initiatives like LFC events and Taiwan Global Healthcare Association’s Global Medical Model Award. Last year’s edition ­recognized the outstanding ­contributions of six individuals and organizations, including TWNA and experts working to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in medically underserved countries and treat autoimmune diseases in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The ministry’s financial backing­ is opening the door for NGOs to deepen their engagement in global affairs. It enabled Taiwan Medical Women’s Association to attend the 2019 International Congress of the Medical Women’s International Association in New York City, where the delegation ­successfully bid for Taiwan to host the triennial meeting for the first time. More than 800 professionals from roughly 50 countries flew to Taipei for the three-day congress in 2022, which was instrumental in expanding Taiwan’s international health exchanges.

The MOHW is particularly invested in spurring the country’s medical research sector, another area in which its support is paying dividends. During the pandemic, the ministry’s National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine (NRICM) ­developed an herbal medicine that effectively ­prevents the progression of symptoms in mild and moderate cases. The therapeutic, known as NRICM101, is now available in more than 60 countries. A variation for severe cases called NRICM102 has shown significant results in reducing patient mortality rates, and one pharmaceutical company has already been granted export approval.

One of the sector’s latest accomplishments is a vaccine protecting against enterovirus 71, a deadly infectious disease that poses a persistent threat in Taiwan and the rest of Asia. The homegrown immunization slated to enter the domestic market later this year is the result of more than 10 years of research initiated by the ministry-funded National Health Research Institutes and completed by Enimmune Corp. The company, which is a subsidiary of locally based Adimmune Corp., obtained marketing approval from the MOHW in January and has plans to roll the vaccine out in Southeast Asia, where projected annual demand exceeds 20 million doses.

Nursing personnel from Saint Lucia join peers in Taiwan at a workshop for International Council of Nurses’ Leadership for Change program. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Nurses Association)

Collective Call

The government makes a dedicated effort to share Taiwan’s successful health discoveries, initiatives and practices with partners and allies through official channels like the Global Cooperation and Training Framework established by Taiwan and the United States in 2015. Though countless meetings on related challenges have been held through such platforms, the international network remains incomplete as long as Taiwan is denied access to the mechanisms, meetings and activities of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA). “Being locked out of the WHO blocks us from participating in discussions on WHO reform and joining the global response to future pandemics. This runs counter to the organization’s goal of building a more resilient world,” said MOHW Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元). Taiwan has thoroughly demonstrated its worthiness for inclusion with its tireless work to battle disease and promote wellness worldwide, including by providing critical medical equipment and supplies to other countries at the height of COVID-19, he added.

There is a growing consensus in the international community on granting Taiwan meaningful participation in the WHO and WHA, as evidenced by endorsements from over 3,800 lawmakers, politicians and influential figures from 88 countries last year. During the 2022 WHA plenary session France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic explicitly voiced support for the first time. “This meant a great deal to us, especially given countries’ limited amount of time for spoken statements,” Hsueh said.

Legislatures around the world are similarly urging their governments to back Taiwan’s bid. Last year saw the U.S. Congress pass a bill directing the secretary of state to develop a strategy to help Taiwan regain observer status in the WHO, which was quickly signed into law by President Joe Biden. International NGOs such as the World Medical Association and Association of European Journalists are adding to the tide of support with public statements and letters to the WHO director-general.

According to Hsueh, Taiwan is deeply grateful to allies and like-minded partners for their staunch backing. The country will continue strengthening substantive relations with friendly nations and advocating for WHO inclusion in the hope of contributing its expertise to the global body’s fight for health equality. “Only when all stakeholders can directly engage in the organization’s meetings, mechanisms and activities can the WHO’s goal of Health For All truly be realized,” the minister said.

(This article is adapted from All In in the May/June 2023 issue of Taiwan Review. The Taiwan Review archives dating to 1951 are available online.)

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