President Chen Shui-bian on July 27 said that Taiwan has made significant progress in health care and medical services, which is reflected in rankings that place it among the best in the world. Still, Taiwan has been shut out of the World Health Organization and has been deprived of meaningful participation in the WHO. As the experts and scholars now visiting Taiwan have significant influence in the medical field, the president said he hopes they will speak on behalf of Taiwan and help prevent the health right of the 23 million people of Taiwan from being compromised.
President Chen made the remarks when meeting with a group of foreign scholars and experts in Taipei, including Dr. David E. Bloom, to attend the TIVSAlliance International Seminar on Global Immunization Trends and Implications for Taiwan. Also in attendance is. President Chen, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), expressed his welcome and appreciation to the visitors for providing Taiwan valuable insight and thoughts on immunization policies.
The president expressed his regret that Taiwan is not a formal member of the WHO and that pressure from China has resulted in Taiwan having been denied access to the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS). Nonetheless, he is still hopeful that the establishment of the GIVS will enhance the wellbeing of the Taiwan people.
The president said Taiwan already has chalked up substantial achievements in medical care. According to rankings by the Economic Intelligence Unit, Taiwan is ranked as the world's second healthiest country, behind only Sweden. Despite this ranking, Taiwan still has room to make further improvements in its immunization policies, he said.