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

When news of the illness that would later become known as COVID-19 made the rounds in Taiwan in early 2020, Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎), a pediatrician at National Taiwan University Hospital, was curious how the public would respond. “The reaction was obvious and surprisingly quick. I saw a third of metro riders in Taipei City immediately start wearing masks to protect against the then mysterious disease,” he said.

More than two years later, coronavirus is still raging around the world, but Taiwan has proven resilient despite experiencing a significant outbreak last spring and summer. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), total COVID-19 cases and deaths respectively stood at 23,393 and 853 at the end of March, which is impressive given the country’s population of 23.5 million. Credit for Taiwan’s remarkable pandemic performance is due in part to the vigilance and self-discipline of citizens in taking protective measures.

This has been coupled with swift action by the government, including the establishment of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) led by MOHW head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中‬) on January 21, 2020, nine days before World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The CECC operates at the highest administrative level, giving it authority to coordinate the operations of ministries and agencies across the government during health emergencies, Chen said. The center has played a pivotal role in the country’s battle against the virus as it allows measures ranging from the implementation of meticulous border controls to the production and distribution of medical resources to be carried out quickly and effectively, he added.
 

Taiwan International Healthcare Training Center has assisted more than 1,900 health professionals worldwide, including these from Nigeria and the Philippines, left, visiting the burn center at Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei City. (Photo courtesy of Ministry of Health and Welfare)
 

Valuable Contributions

As Taiwan won recognition for efforts to protect its citizens, the country began reaching beyond its borders to offer help to the international community. It donated medical supplies such as surgical masks, isolation gowns and thermometers to more than 80 countries and territories worldwide. As recently as late March, Taiwan gifted 50 oxygen concentrators and 2,000 N95 masks to Bhutan to help the South Asian country tackle an outbreak of the omicron variant. Taiwan additionally exchanges information on managing COVID-19 with public health professionals around the world through platforms like Global Cooperation and Training Framework workshops and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy.

At the same time, Taiwan has devoted itself to developing domestic vaccines to supplement those procured from abroad. Taiwan’s Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. began working on a COVID-19 vaccine in cooperation with U.S.-based National Institutes of Health and Dynavax Technologies in 2020. To date the immunization has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) at home as well as in Paraguay in South America and Somaliland in Africa. “The ability to produce vaccines locally is a critical aspect of Taiwan’s self-reliance strategy,” said Lee, a CECC advisor. “Vaccination is the key to regaining normal life, as it effectively reduces the risk of severe illness and death,” he added. Taiwan is sharing the serum with the world, donating 150,000 Medigen doses to Somaliland in January. The vaccine is currently one of two being tested under the WHO’s Phase 3 Solidarity Trial Vaccines program, with validation expected to result in more EUAs in countries across the globe.

The National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine (NRICM) is likewise doing its part to help fight the pandemic. In collaboration with two local teaching hospitals, the MOHW institution developed an herbal medicine called NRICM101, which significantly reduces the likelihood of patients requiring intubation or intensive care, according to research results. A total of eight pharmaceutical companies in Taiwan have been authorized to produce and distribute the therapeutic overseas, where it is now available in about 50 countries, including Australia, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S.

Enduring Commitment

Over the past two years, Taiwan has worked hard to prevent gaps from forming in the global epidemic management and prevention network. “Taiwan is more than willing to fulfill its responsibility as a member of the international community and a force for good in the world,” Chen said. “We’ll keep working to advance health for all humankind.”

Taiwan’s determination to help friends and allies far predates the current pandemic, with the country long devoted to promoting health and welfare worldwide. In 2002, for example, the MOHW established 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. Offering courses in subjects ranging from health care management and traditional Chinese medicine to clinical training in a variety of medical fields, the center has assisted 1,946 health professionals from 73 countries over the past 20 years. “With skills and knowledge learned in Taiwan, trainees can make greater contributions back in their own countries while becoming a positive force in the world for Taiwan,” said Chen.

Another impactful project launched by the ministry a few years later is the Global Medical Instruments Support and Service Program. The initiative coordinates efforts by over 100 hospitals and medical device manufacturers in Taiwan to donate equipment overseas. More than 7,000 items have been shipped to medical institutions in 37 developing countries through the initiative.
 

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

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 target countries and signed about 150 memorandums of understanding on cooperation with partner hospitals since January 2018.

Staunch Support

Taiwan’s high-quality medical services, eagerness to share its experiences and impressive performance combating COVID-19 demonstrate that it 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 needing urgent attention as life-threatening infectious diseases have broken out one after another in various parts of the world over the past 20 years, Chen said.
 

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

Growing international backing of Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO testifies to the country’s crucial role in global health security. 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 with information technology. In another first the same month, foreign ministers representing the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, together with the European Union, issued a communique including an explicit endorsement of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHO and the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s decision-making body holding its 75th annual meeting May 22-28 in Geneva. Equally important is the passing of the World Medical Association’s resolution in October 2021 calling on the WHO to grant Taiwan observer status in the WHA.

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 cross-party 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. The global support has reached unparalleled heights,” Chen said.

“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,” the official added. “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.”