US official Garrett Grigsby has called on the WHO to include Taiwan as an observer. Grigsby is the director of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Global Affairs. He was speaking Tuesday during a virtual meeting of the WHO’s Executive Board.
This meeting is one of a series scheduled from January 18-26 that will focus on topics including effective disease prevention and the distribution of vaccines.
During a discussion of COVID-19 and mental health, Grigsby spoke about Taiwan’s success in keeping COVID-19 at bay and its contributions to the fight against the disease. Grigsby said Taiwan’s success shows how to better respond to disease and called for Taiwan’s return to the WHO as an observer.
Taiwan participated in the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, as an observer from 2009 to 2016. However, it has been barred from participating since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016 due to Chinese pressure.