Nongovernmental organizations play an important role in advancing Taiwan’s medical diplomacy and advocating the nation’s participation in the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, according to Vice President Chen Chien-jen April 22.
 
Taiwan uses its cutting-edge medical expertise to provide clinical services and promote health care development around the world, Chen said. Local civil society groups make significant contributions to these missions and enhance international awareness of the country’s efforts to strengthen the global health environment, he added.
 
Chen made the remarks at the annual conference of the Taiwan Dental Association (CDA) in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City. The group is sending a delegation to Geneva for the upcoming WHA running May 21-26 to promote the nation’s inclusion in the annual assembly.
 
Visiting Switzerland May 21-27, the delegation will attend forums to showcase Taiwan’s dentistry and oral health medical knowledge and experiences, according to the organization. The CDA has arranged events on the sidelines of the WHA for more than a decade.
 
Chen expressed gratitude to the association for its long-standing efforts in fostering international medical exchanges and offering aid in disadvantaged communities at home and abroad.
 
Recent missions conducted by the CDA delivered clinical services and raised awareness of oral hygiene in Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. At home, the organization operates temporary and mobile clinics in rural areas and provides in-home treatment to the physically disabled.
 
According to Chen, the government is committed to strengthening access to oral health services by working with associations such as the CDA to boost talent cultivation and encourage more dentists to establish clinics in rural areas.
 
Taiwan took part in the annual WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016 following 38 years of exclusion. Its involvement is widely recognized as helping advance global disease prevention efforts and bolster global health security. (KWS-E)