People in Taiwan receive COVID-19 vaccines to boost the country’s disease resilience amid the pandemic. (Photo by Kent Chuang)

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) discusses Taiwan’s efforts to combat the pandemic, its readiness to share expertise and why the country deserves greater participation in global health affairs.

Taiwan has been working hard to protect its people and prevent gaps from forming in the global health network amid the COVID-19 pandemic. What has the government done in this respect to date?

Chen Shih-chung: The establishment of the Central Epidemic Command Center in January 2020 was a crucial early step in the country’s battle against the virus. The center is staffed by top medical and public health experts and operates at the highest administrative level in the government system, giving it authority to coordinate the operations of various ministries and agencies during health emergencies. It has played a pivotal role during the pandemic in allowing measures ranging from the implementation of meticulous border controls to the production and distribution of medical resources to be carried out quickly and effectively.

At the same time, Taiwan has made a dedicated effort to develop its own vaccines to minimize the impact of the virus while pursuing all avenues to procure doses from abroad. We additionally formulated an herbal medicine called NRICM101 that has proven highly effective in reducing the chances of patients requiring intubation or intensive care.

The government has frequently stated that Taiwan is willing and able to share its health care experience, including its successes in managing the pandemic. Can you elaborate on this?

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (Photo by Chen Mei-ling)

Chen: The country has been sharing its experience and exchanging information on containing COVID-19 with global public health professionals through platforms like Global Cooperation and Training Framework and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy. We have also helped by providing medical equipment and supplies to countries in need.

Taiwan has long been enthusiastic about promoting health and welfare worldwide. In 2002 the Ministry of Health and Welfare [MOHW] established the Taiwan International Healthcare Training Center in the belief that empowering a country’s medical personnel is far more effective at safeguarding its populace than directly providing medical services. More than 1,900 professionals in health care from 73 countries have received training provided by the center in the past 20 years.

Under its One Country, One Center framework, the MOHW is additionally collaborating with seven Taiwan medical centers, each of which liaises with counterparts in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam or the Philippines, to provide training opportunities for local health care workers and organize events facilitating exchanges. In total the centers have trained approximately 900 medical professionals from the target countries and signed about 150 memorandums of understanding on cooperation with partner hospitals since January 2018.

Despite the countr y’s highquality medical services, eagerness to share its experiences and impressive performance combating COVID-19, Taiwan is still shut out of the World Health Organization [WHO]. How do you see this issue?

Chen: Taiwan is a force to be reckoned with in the WHO’s campaign to achieve Health For All. Despite this, the country remains locked out of the global organization due to political barriers, an issue urgently needing to be addressed as life-threatening infectious diseases have broken out one after another in various parts of the world over the last 20 years.

Denying Taiwan’s participation in the WHO on political grounds runs counter to the common good of the international community as well as the WHO’s pledge to Leave No One Behind. Only by granting Taiwan regular participation in WHO meetings, mechanisms and activities will the global disease prevention and control system be complete. Such a move will more rapidly put an end to the threat the pandemic poses to humankind while helping realize the WHO’s goal of Health For All.

The development of NRICM101, an herbal medicine now available in Taiwan and abroad, is part of the government’s campaign to combat the pandemic. (Courtesy of Ministry of Health and Welfare)

How strong is international support for Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO?

Chen: In May 2021 the International Medical Informatics Association publicly expressed support for Taiwan’s WHO campaign for the first time, citing the country’s exceptional record curbing the pandemic using information technology. In the same month, foreign ministers representing the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations along with the European Union, issued a communique including an explicit endorsement of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHO, another first.

Legislators around the world have also championed the bid, including members of Formosa Clubs, which have been established in six regions including Africa, Europe and the Indo-Pacific to enable crossparty lawmakers to enhance relations with Taiwan. Participants have voiced support via virtual meetings and letters sent individually or jointly to the WHO’s director-general. More than 3,000 parliamentarians from over 100 countries have taken action to advance Taiwan’s cause. Global support has reached unparalleled heights.

—interview by Oscar Chung

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