By Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin
The enjoyment of good health is one of the universal human rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. It is morally wrong for any country or organization to deprive the 23 million Taiwanese people of their fundamental health rights to participate in 2018 WHA and to share international health information as well as the prevention of disease and epidemics.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the SARS outbreak. Fifteen years ago, as a result of the cruel deprivation of Taiwan’s fundamental health rights imposed by Beijing, Taiwan lost many lives to SARS and greatly suffered. Although Taiwan is back on its feet and has developed an ever stronger disease prevention system, Taiwan is still being prevented from participating in the WHA on political grounds and cannot make contributions towards the uplift of international health and medical services.
Virus infection knows no borders. Only when every member of the international community is included in this collective fight against diseases, the negative effects of the next potential pandemic outbreak will be minimized.
Taiwan, similar to the Philippines, is one of the key health provider for many developing countries and various Pacific nations, and Taiwan is also one of the most important links of global disease prevention network. Taiwan not only built many hospitals and clinics for the developing countries such as Malawi and Solomon Island, etc, but also routinely sent various medical missions and volunteer doctors to overseas countries.
Located at a key position in East Asia, Taiwan shares environmental similarities for communicable disease outbreaks with neighboring countries and is frequently visited by international travelers. This makes Taiwan vulnerable to cross-border transmission and cross-transmission of communicable disease pathogens, which could lead to their genetic recombination or mutation, and give rise to new infectious agents.
Unfortunately, as Taiwan is unable to attend the WHA and is excluded from full participation in related WHO technical meetings, mechanisms, and activities, this creates serious gaps in the global health security system and threatens people’s right to health.
In this era of increased globalization in which infectious diseases spread across boundaries, Taiwan has the urgent and practical need to become an important and indispensable partner in the fight of the global diseases.
Moreover, Taiwan has the ability to make substantial contributions to the global efforts on disease prevention and control, as it has established a comprehensive disease prevention system and organized numerous training workshops aimed at building capacity to prevent Ebola, MERS, dengue fever, and Zika in the Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, thereby facilitating collective efforts to strengthen global health security.
In addition, Taiwan was the first country in Asia to implement a national health insurance program, which boasts a coverage rate of 99.9 percent. Medical expenditures in Taiwan account for mere 6.3 percent of GDP. Taiwan is ready and willing to share its experiences with members of the WHO and other countries.
Last but not least, Taiwan’s participation will enhance the global health system and serve as a good role model for the universal health coverage.
This is why in January this year, the United States House of Representatives has passed a bill to direct the US Secretary of State to help Taiwan participate in the WHA. It is envisaged that through Taiwan’s participation in the WHA and the WHO, it can share its experience with other countries, including the Philippines, make timely reporting and acquire information on diseases, and play a constructive role in global and in regional health protection. This would create a win-win scenario for Taiwan, the Philippines, the WHO, and the world community.
Taiwan and the Philippines are the closest neighbors. There are approximately 150,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, and millions of Filipinos traveling through Taiwan. Last year, there were around 300,000 Filipinos visiting Taiwan. Given the bilateral close relations, for our common interests and protection of people’s health, I hereby humbly urge the Philippines Government, Congress, health organizations, and general public to support Taiwan for its participation in the WHA in May 2018.
Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin is the Representative of Taiwan/ROC to the Philippines
