Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago, more than 510 million cases of the disease have been confirmed and more than 6.25 million deaths worldwide.
As nations continue to fight the pandemic, Taiwan’s achievements have been widely recognized worldwide. According to records from the 10th, the island accounted for about 390,000 cases and 931 deaths – the local population is 23.5 million.
The positive result, compared to other nations, was thanks to the joint effort of the government and the people. In addition, Taiwan’s economic growth rate in 2021 reached 6.45%.
universal health coverage
Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system, launched in 1995, has played an important role in the fight against the pandemic. The NHI system offers a range of high-quality health services, achieving universal coverage (99.9%).
In this regard, Taiwan’s robust healthcare system and NHI have protected people and ensured social stability during the pandemic. In addition, the NHI’s comprehensive database and other up-to-date information systems have been instrumental in ensuring the successful application of digital technology for disease prevention.
Taiwan’s healthcare system ranked second in the world in 2021, according to CEOWorld. In Numbeo’s annual survey, Taiwan ranked first among 95 countries surveyed in the 2021 Health Index category.
Use of technology to prevent epidemics
To reduce the risk of community transmission, already in the early stage of the pandemic, in February 2020 the government implemented the Quarantine System for Entry, integrating the NHI, immigration and customs databases to enable big data analysis.
The data was fed into the Digital Fencing Tracking System, which used the positioning system on cell phones to monitor the whereabouts of people in quarantine or home isolation.
Electronic medical records and telemedicine
Taiwan has been building health information infrastructure since 2010, such as the electronic medical record (EMR) exchange system. Since May 2021, Taiwan has expanded its telemedicine services in healthcare institutions and included these services in NHI coverage as a way to reduce the risk of infections from crowding in these institutions.
Using NHI, MediCloud and EMR systems, contactless telemedicine allows medical staff to obtain patients’ medical records and provide people in remote areas with adequate and comprehensive services, helping to achieve the goals of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Taiwan’s new model
Taiwan managed to contain the pandemic while people led normal lives and the country achieved positive economic growth through accurate use of technology, information transparency, strict border controls, accurate screening and case investigation.
However, due to the worldwide spread of the omicron variant since late 2021, community transmission has also started to increase in Taiwan. The strain appears to be much more contagious, but causes mild or no symptoms.
Trying to block the transmission of each case would be a futile effort that would greatly affect people’s livelihoods. Therefore, the government has chosen, since April, to eliminate severe cases, manage mild cases, minimize general impacts and take care of moderate and severe cases.
This new Taiwanese model seeks to allow people to lead a normal life and the country to constantly open up, while active epidemic prevention measures remain in place.
Taiwan can and is already helping
Today’s world continues to face challenges from the health crisis: from vaccine delivery to post-pandemic recovery. Countries must work together and prepare for possible future pandemics. Taiwan is an indispensable partner in ensuring a successful post-pandemic recovery.
To contain the pandemic, Taiwan continued to cooperate with other countries in the research and development of vaccines and medicines against Covid. In addition, it donated medical supplies such as surgical masks and medicines to countries in need. This demonstrated that Taiwan can and is already helping.
We urge WHO and relevant parties to support Taiwan’s inclusion in the organization and allow it to fully participate in its meetings, mechanisms and activities.
Taiwan will continue to work with the rest of the world to ensure that everyone enjoys the fundamental human right to health as stipulated in the WHO charter. In the spirit of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, no one should be left behind.
