Taiwan’s Healthcare System
Taiwan has established a modern and world-class healthcare system. All medical and healthcare professionals work to uphold the goal of the government to promote and maintain the health of all people in Taiwan by driving forward various health-related tasks with the hope that everyone will receive “friendly, convenient and efficient” health and medical care service.
• Taiwan has established the first universal health insurance system in Asia. (97% coverage and 70% approval rate)
• In 2002, Taiwan had 18,228 medical care institutions, one physician for every 632 people, and 40 hospital beds for every 10,000 people.
• Taiwan enjoys one of the highest levels of life expectancy in Asia, 73 years for males and 78 for females.
• Taiwan has eradicated many communicable diseases such as plague, smallpox, rabies, malaria and poliomyelitis.
• Taiwan provides all children with free hepatitis B vaccinations.
In the year 2000, the Economist Intelligence Unit of the United Kingdom rated the medical care in Taiwan the second among all developed countries and newly industrialized countries, next only to Sweden.
Taiwan and the WHO
In the early 1960s when Taiwan was still a poor country, many international organizations such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, USAID, and the Rockefeller Foundation had generously helped Taiwan eradicate malaria, control tuberculosis, and promote healthcare for mothers and children.
The success of these programs enabled Taiwan in later years to dispatch some 70 experts to the World Health Organization to offer Taiwan’s experiences to other countries. However, since its withdrawal from the World Health Organization in 1972, Taiwan has been completely isolated from the international healthcare community.
Why the WHO Matters to Taiwan
In a global community, the whole world is vulnerable to global diseases that call for global collaboration and global response to prevent and control.
Taiwan needs direct and immediate access to up-to-date disease control information. Not being a member of the World Health Organization, Taiwan is unable to acquire immediately the necessary information needed for disease control and prevention. Even when the information is later published on the official website of the WHO, it is too little and too late. With
immediate and direct access to up-to-date information, Taiwan would be able to work more efficiently to prevent outbreaks from taking place without any delay.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO also prevents it from taking part in the WHO mechanism for the allocation of vaccines and other disease control supplies. Taiwan’s inability to make use of this allocation mechanism during international outbreaks hampers its disease control efforts and has a strong negative impact on the health of people in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Contributions to the International Community
Contributions made by Taiwan’s government and non-governmental organizations are relatively unknown to the outside world. Government statistics and the findings of an informal survey by the Department of Health show that, since 1995, both the government and private organizations have donated a total of US$180 million to aid programs in 95 countries and areas. Only 26 of these have diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
The majority of Taiwan’s humanitarian and aid work is done via donations to international organizations. We have shown a strong commitment to the WHO’s objective to eradicate polio, and through Rotary International, have contributed US$9.2 million to this project since 1995.
Taiwan’s NGO sector, including the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation, Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps and Eden Social Welfare Foundation, also supports many international projects.
Support from the International Community
In 2003, the US Congress passed a bill calling for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization. The bill was later signed into law by President Bush.
On May 15, 2003, after considering the facts that Taiwan had sought advice and assistance from the WHO and that the success of worldwide efforts to prevent SARS from spreading required participation by all nations, the European Parliament passed a resolution to call on the World Health Assembly to accept Taiwan as an observer in the belief that better representation of Taiwan in international organizations would contribute to world peace and stability.
In May 2003, the World Health Professions Alliance, an association of professional NGOs that maintain official relations with the WHO and consists of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, World Medical Association, and International Council of Nurses, issued a press information strongly and openly supporting observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
In addition, groups of parliamentarians from Canada, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, and Japan, as well as numerous professional medical organizations, such as the World Medical Association, the International Pediatric Association, the British Medical Association, the Standing Committee of European Doctors, International Pharmaceutical Federation, International
College of Surgeons, the First World Congress of Traditional Medicine, and the Philippine Medical Association, have also made the same statement.
Taiwan’s Campaign to Participate in the WHO
In 1997, Taiwan initiated a campaign to participate in the WHO. However, due to objections from China, Taiwan is still excluded. With the development of rapid and convenient transportation systems, it is inevitable that diseases will spread across borders as people and commodities circulate freely.
Taiwan has been excluded from the official WHO international epidemic notification system. This is not only detrimental to the health of the 23 million people in Taiwan, but also represents a defect in global health and disease prevention system and puts people of other countries in potential danger.
Therefore, Taiwan has sought observer status in the WHA. Taiwan hopes to contact and cooperate with the WHO through this channel, so as to avoid political intervention. This would benefit Taiwan and all WHO members.
Call for Support
We ask you, on behalf of the 23 million people in Taiwan, that you take this opportunity to write to Dr. Lee Jong-wook, Director General of the WHO, and voice your support for Taiwan to achieve the status as an observer in the WHA.
Your support will make a difference in the lives of every Taiwanese as well as benefit the global community. Please show your support by writing to:
Dr. Lee Jong-wook
Director General
World Health Organization
WHO Headquarters
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva 2+
Switzerland
Key websites for further information on Taiwan’s health and medical community:
Government Information Office
http://www.gio.gov.tw
Department of Health
http://www.doh.gov.tw
Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov.tw
Health Taiwan
http://healthtaiwan.doh.gov.tw/whowbs/index_E.jsp
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