衛生部長陳時中在投書中強調自今年初算起，全球累積超過4千萬名病例，死亡人數多達一百萬人，而台灣持續協助國際共同抗疫。 | In a letter to the editor, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung highlighted that there have more than 40 million cases and more than 1 million deaths around the world since earlier this year, to which Taiwan has striven to assist the international community. (圖|截取自伊洛瓦底報| Screengrab from The Irrawaddy)

TAIPEI (The China Post) — Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung published a letter to the editor of The Irrawaddy on Monday to share Taiwan’s unique experience in fighting the pandemic.

The letter to the editor highlights that there have more than 40 million cases and more than 1 million deaths around the world since earlier this year to which Taiwan has striven to assist the international community.

The virus has had an enormous impact on global politics, employment, economics, trade and financial systems, and significantly impacted the global efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, he remarked.

“The global outbreak of COVID-19 has reminded the world that infectious diseases know no borders and do not discriminate along political, ethnic, religious or cultural lines,” he explained.

“As of June 2020, Taiwan had held nearly 80 online conferences, sharing the Taiwan Model with experts from governments, hospitals, universities and think tanks in 32 countries,” he pointed out.

At the same time, the minister stressed that Taiwan’s donations of medical equipment and anti-pandemic supplies to countries in need also continue.

“And our government is actively assisting domestic manufacturers in hopes of accelerating the development and production of successful vaccines, bringing them to market as quickly as possible and putting an end to this pandemic,” he said.

Chen emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that “Taiwan is an integral part of the global public health network and that Taiwan Model can help other countries combat the pandemic.”

He stressed that “WHO needs Taiwan. We urge WHO and related parties to acknowledge Taiwan’s longstanding contributions to global public health, disease prevention, and the human right to health, and to firmly support Taiwan’s inclusion in WHO.”

Without a doubt, Taiwan’s comprehensive participation in WHO meetings, mechanisms, and activities would allow us to work with the rest of the world in realizing the fundamental human right to health as stipulated in the WHO Constitution and the vision of leaving no one behind enshrined in the UN SDGs, he concluded.