The International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) has for the first time partnered with the US-based Center for Disease Analysis Foundation to promote a hepatitis C research project in Indonesia, the ICDF said on Tuesday.
The project aims to eliminate hepatitis C in Indonesia by giving policy advice to the Indonesian government, ICDF Deputy Secretary-General Alex Shyy (史立軍) told a news conference in Taipei.
The two agencies would work with Taiwanese and Indonesian experts, as well as WHO representatives, to compile statistics and produce a report on policy advice that they would submit to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Shyy said, adding that they would also host a meeting between affected parties.
The 69th session of the World Health Assembly, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, in May 2016 pledged to reduce the number of new infections of chronic hepatitis B and C by 90 percent, reduce the number of people dying from the diseases by 65 percent and ensure that 80 percent of infected patients are treated by 2030, he said.
This research project would echo those goals and expand the ICDF’s public health work, he said, adding that it hopes to promote similar plans in allied countries.
In other news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs next year is to invite domestic textile businesses to form a delegation to visit Guatemala, whose primary export items are textile products, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said.
As many clothing brands in the US have contracts with Taiwanese manufacturers, Central American countries would be good locations for Taiwanese firms to expand their market, and land and labor costs in the region are also cheaper, she said.
A trade delegation to Paraguay led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in October procured US$60 million of soybeans, beef and sesame, showcasing Taiwan’s growing investment in allied countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, she said.
The ministry would continue working with like-minded countries, such as the US and Japan, to increase investments in allied countries, Yeh added.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
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