Times Of Swaziland: TAIWAN PLEADS FOR INCLUSION IN WHO

TAIWAN PLEADS FOR INCLUSION IN WHO
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Stanley Khumalo on 14/04/2023 09:28:00


MANZINI – Taiwan has once again pleaded for its inclusion in the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
The plea was extended by the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ambassador to Eswatini
Jeremy Liang, during the 2023 World Health Day and the WHO 75th Anniversary
celebration held at The George Hotel yesterday. The event was attended by the
Prime Minister (PM), Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, United Nations (UN) Resident
Coordinator George Wachira, WHO Representative Dr Geoffrey Bisoborwa, Minister
of Health Lizzie Nkosi and Minister of Public Service Mabulala Maseko.
Ambassador Liang said they embarked on a journey to achieve ‘Health For All’
and to motivate action to address the health challenges of today and tomorrow,
the government of Taiwan was humbled to have been invited to the WHO’s 75th
anniversary. He said Taiwan was a firm believer in the possibility of achieving
universal access to high-quality healthcare. As such, the ambassador said the
Taiwanese health care system was characterised by good accessibility,
comprehensive population coverage, short waiting times, low cost and national
data collection systems for planning and research.  “Ranking second in the
world with the best health care system, Taiwan enjoys access to affordable and
world-class medical care through the National Health Insurance System,” he
said.
Liang said Taiwan had always been willing to assist the world in achieving
sustainable and effective health care systems and had carried out a number of
health care projects to improve emaSwati’s health. The ambassador said with
this quality of health care systems, knowledge and experience, they had assisted
Eswatini through various programmes including their medical mission.
Training
Additionally, he said they had provided assistance through training more than 88
doctors and aided government by providing free medical services to rural areas
through their outreach programme. Ambassador Liang said the Taiwanese
government’s many other contributions to the international community
demonstrated their assertiveness and collaborative spirit. “However, Taiwan
(is) excluded from the world’s international health system. Therefore, once
again we plead with WHO to include us as one of the countries who honour and
fulfil the mandate of the organisation. We believe that we have what it takes to
contribute to the organisation and the world at large in order to realise the
goal ‘Health for All’.”
He further extended appreciation to the Eswatini Government for always
supporting their bid to become a member of the international community. The
ambassador said they valued the support extended to them. “Taiwan can help.
Please let Taiwan help,” he said. His remarks were met with a round of
applause from the many guests present during the occasion. Meanwhile, the UK
high commissioner in Eswatini recommitted that Britain would continue to support
the WHO.
The High Commissioner, Simon Boyden, said many sectors needed to be collaborated
to deliver the best healthcare and his country was committed to it. He said the
UK was committed to equitable access to vaccines and they committed E1 billion
to Global Fund to save millions of lives through fighting HIV/AIDs, malaria and
tubercolosis (TB), among many. On the other hand, the US Charge de Affaires Earl
Miller said his country was committed to saving lives through many programmes.
He said his country was proud of its collaboration through PEPFAR, which was the
largest contributor in dealing with healthcare challenges.
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