The annual Global Health Forum in Taiwan opened yesterday in Taipei, with Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) saying that the nation is looking forward to strengthening Asia-Pacific ties to increase cooperation in the areas of medicine and health, and promoting health-related industrial links.
The theme of the forum is “Resilience: New Challenges and Opportunities for Global Health.”
Taiwan is a member of the global public health community and it has taken the annual forum seriously for the past 14 years, Chen said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Many nations are facing the challenges brought by rapidly aging populations and high prevalence of chronic diseases that call for better medical and public health environments as well as social welfare services, he said.
Chen praised the National Health Insurance program for its nearly universal coverage and effective financial management, achieving the goal of equal healthcare for all.
He said the most challenging public health issue the nation faces is its aging society, as more than 20 percent of the population is forecast to be older than 65 by 2026, so the government is pushing its 10-year Long-term Care Service Program 2.0 to tackle the issue.
Taiwan has an advanced and high-quality healthcare system and disease prevention network, as well as world-class pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries, Chen said.
The approval this year of Taiwan’s application to become a member of the International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use shows that these achievements are internationally recognized, he said.
Taiwan, building on its cooperation with other nations, is using the government’s New Southbound Policy to promote cooperation on healthcare with India and ASEAN members, and looks forward to strengthening regional ties with Asia-Pacific countries in healthcare.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the forum invited 68 speakers from 34 nations, adding that more than 1,200 specialists and officials from around the world are expected to take part in the two-day event.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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