On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO)rejected the government's request that Taiwan be removed from its travel advisory list. The WHO's rejection is not only a major blow to the nation's health care workers, but a big frustration for the general public. The application was presented in strict accordance with the standards by which Hong Kong was removed from the WHO's list on May 23. Taiwan has not done any worse than Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in SARS prevention, but it has received different treatment from the WHO. This has led to accusations of Chinese political interference.
Officials from the Department of Health had expressed optimism about the nation's prospects for being removed from the travel advisory because the number of probable cases and deaths this month were low enough for Taiwan to qualify. The government has established standard procedures at hospitals and the epidemic had been brought under control. Even though there was a SARS outbreak at Taipei Municipal Yangming Hospital after the application was filed, the sources of infection were immediately isolated.
Even though Taiwan reported six probable cases on June 10, six of the people displayed symptoms that were not typical of SARS and not all of them tested positive on polymerase-chain-reaction tests. But the government has respected the judgment of medical professionals and honestly listed them as probable cases. The nation's performance has won praise from WHO experts conducting field inspections here and they were astonished by the rejection of the application.
Some have attributed the rejection to media reports that Taiwan may have exported SARS cases to Germany, Thailand and Brazil. But these reports have proven largely to be untrue. These are flimsy reasons for rejecting Taiwan's application -- if they were actually used as reasons.
China's interference in the WHO's operations is nothing new. During this year's World Health Assembly, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi (
Rumors have long circulated that Beijing has pressured the WHO not to remove Taiwan from its list before it takes China off the list. The fact that Taiwan was rejected despite its good prospects has reinforced speculation that political considerations are overriding professional judgment at the WHO.
Taiwan has tried to join the WHO in the belief that it is a professional organization that values medical expertise and human rights. If the rumors about China's interference in the WHO are true, and if the agency is kowtowing to political pressure in violation of its own principles, then Taiwan should not be so eager to join it.
But that does not mean there is no need for improvement in the nation's epidemic-prevention measures. We can see from the cluster infections at Yangming Hospital that Taiwan still isn't doing well enough.
Taiwan's eventual goal is not merely to be removed from the travel advisory, but to eradicate SARS entirely. The failure to get off the WHO's travel advisory list is a warning that the nation must not lower its guard. Constant alert and effort are as
necessary as ever. Just one lapse and SARS may make a comeback.
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