MOFA Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu (second right) is joined by representatives from (from left) E-Da Hospital, Chimei Medical Center and Far Eastern Memorial Hospital at the Friend of Foreign Service Medal conferment ceremony July 6 in Taipei City. (MOFA)

Three Taiwan hospitals were awarded the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy by Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu July 6 in Taipei City for extensive contributions to raising health standards in diplomatic allies Belize, El Salvador and Haiti.
 
Taiwan is willing and able to play a key role when it comes to promoting human development and international assistance, Wu said during the conferment ceremony. The government will continue expanding the scope of the country’s global cooperation projects on the back of closer public-private sector tie-ups, he added.
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chimei Medical Center in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City was recognized for working with El Salvador’s public health ministry in training oncologists and providing advanced medical equipment for the Central American country.
 
Kaohsiung City-based E-Da Hospital, also situated in southern Taiwan, was similarly honored for partnering with facilities in El Salvador and Haiti in the Caribbean, as well as the El Salvador National Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta. Several major achievements include running volunteer clinics in the two countries and arranging English-language postgraduate medical programs at Kaohsiung-based I-Shou University for students from the allies.
 
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City was lauded for offering free clinics and performing major surgical procedures in Central America’s Belize. This was in addition to conducting national, community-based screening under a chronic renal failure treatment program jointly implemented with Taipei-based International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), the country’s foremost foreign aid organization.
 
The contributions of these facilities made a significant difference in improving the health and well-being of the people, the MOFA said, adding that they underscore the need for Taiwan to participate in the activities and meetings of the World Health Organization. (SFC-E)