Taiwan calls for Indonesia’s support for participation in WHO

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Taiwanese Minister of Health and Welfare Shih-chung Chen, has requested Indonesia to support Taiwan for fully participating in the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a statement from the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) received here on Wednesday, Minister Chen underscored a number of Taiwan’s successful experiences in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

That proves that Taiwan has the ability to contribute to the global health care and should be fully involved in WHO’s meetings, mechanisms and activities.

Minister Chen said Taiwan was once predicted to be one of the worst country affected by the pandemic due to its geographic proximity to China.

However, because Taiwan has experience in fighting the SARS (viral respiratory disease) outbreak in 2003, the government has not ignored the various warnings since the beginning.

Since December 31, 2019, Taiwan has made full use of various information to strengthen surveillance of a possible pandemic, as well as actively and rapidly adopting a number of outbreak prevention measures.

As of Wednesday (May 5), Taiwan has only recorded 1,160 confirmed cases with 11 deaths.

Meanwhile, most Taiwanese are able to maintain a normal life and work for more than one year.

In addition, Taiwan has set a record of no local cases for 253 consecutive days, from April to December 2020.

According to Minister Chen, Taiwan has established a national infectious disease prevention and treatment network after the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The effort included more than 100 isolated hospitals across Taiwan into the medical network, as well as setting up major emergency response hospitals in 22 counties and cities on the Formosa Island.

That mechanism helps protect the medical system and medical personnel from being overloaded, so that most medical services that are not connected with COVID-19 can operate normally.

Minister Chen emphasized that cooperation between people and the government was the main factor for Taiwan’s success in suppressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Taiwanese government is also working to fulfill the people’s right to obtain information about the pandemic, while at the same time protecting privacy and personal freedoms.

The government also provides priority protection to disadvantaged ones, including migrant workers.

Minister Chen also mentioned that Taiwan is one of the most successful countries in the world in responding to the novel coronavirus pandemic because it has a good medical system, implements a strict testing strategy, provides transparent information, and builds cooperation between the public and the private sector.

With those measures, the economic impact of COVID-19 in Taiwan is relatively small.

Taiwan’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth in 2020 was around 3.11 percent. In the fourth quarter, its GDP grew by 4.94 percent, during the global economic recession.

Minister Chen called on Indonesia and other related parties to support Taiwan’s fully participation in the WHO, so that the latter can fully participate in WHO meetings, mechanisms and activities.

Taiwan also expects to be able to work together with countries around the world in achieving WHO’s Charter affirming that health is a human right, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that no one set aside.

Reporting by Indonesia Window